


Great Responsibility

by starks_children



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, High School Student Peter Parker, Not Canon Compliant, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 166,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23892706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starks_children/pseuds/starks_children
Summary: Sami Evans was, to say the least, normal. The most dramatic thing in her life had been math homework, up until the Avengers appeared in her life and dragged her into theirs. Literally.She knew them from the movies. She'd watched every single Marvel movie (she wouldn't say obsessed, exactly...) up until "Spider-Man: Homecoming", and then she lived it. She still wasn't sure if she'd done the right thing. She had come with the Avengers to protect her family from her mistakes, but they weren't mistakes. Sami had helped the team get home, and then by a twist of fate, she walked through the portal into the Marvel universe after them. She had unintentionally changed both worlds forever. And soon she will learn that it wasn't just a coincidence that she came to live at Avengers Tower... the Earth's Mightiest Heroes will need her more than they ever imagined. **features high school angst, LOTS of domestic fluff, and many references to other popular movies and songs**
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/OC
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first attempt at AO3, so bear with me! I'm still getting used to everything, and this is the first time I've posted something I have written like this, so all feedback is very much solicited and appreciated! I hope you all love Sami as much as I do.

I couldn’t help but wonder when (or if ever) the two guys would stop.

_Staring._

At _Liz_.

It was evident to everyone who even barely noticed what they were doing, much less to me, who… well, whose job it was to keep an eye on them.  
I mean, it wasn’t like my job was very hard. Living with Tony was very nice, and it was everything I could have asked for in a situation like mine, but it did come with some expectations, like having to do his “dirty work” every now and then. Which usually meant spying on Peter to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. If I saw anything suspicious, I was supposed to let him know, but only if it was really serious, as Tony had directed me. Cue my dramatic eye-roll.

So far, though, his life seemed pretty simple from what I could see. He’d spend most of the day at school, hiding from Liz and hanging primarily around Ned Leeds, and occasionally leave a bit early, slipping out the back where I knew he’d throw on his super-suit and be out to swing around the city.

Which wasn’t abnormal for him, since the person I’d been assigned to spy on was Spider-Man.

Right then all I could think about, though, was how completely stupid boys were. It wasn’t as if this was new knowledge to me, but I honestly thought he’d have a bit more sense than to sit and stare at a perfectly unassuming and capable girl for the entire lunch period.

Anyways, I got up silently that day, got my stuff together and carried about my classes as usual, knowing a lot of things I shouldn’t have known, like that Peter was about to be in serious danger soon but I couldn’t mention anything about it to Tony. He had to sort this one out on his own, and Tony would get involved just fine without my help.

I was, however, the one who suggested something to Tony about this new kid on YouTube, the one with the spider suit who could stop a semi-truck singlehandedly. It sounded like something he should look up – he seemed pretty cool and plus, where could he have gotten tech like that, anyways? It would also be me who would make a side note to him that I hadn’t seen Peter around at school in a while, on the day I knew he’d be in trouble on the ferry.

But you know me. I hate to meddle. Really.

“Hey, so are you like, ever gonna… talk to me?”

I spun on my heels to face none other than Peter Parker, smirking at me expectantly. I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Uhh, sorry, what do you mean?”

“Well, we’ve just been in pretty much all the same classes for almost four months now and I always see you around, but we’ve never talked before. I know your name, and everything, and I know the only class you have that’s different from mine is French… not because I was stalking you or anything! I just… noticed and—”

“No, it’s okay,” I cut him off, smiling. “You’re right. I’m not the best at talking to people.”

Peter placed his hands on his hips. “Uh, well, we could um… we have to fix that. Right now. I’ll start. I’m, uh, Peter.”

I bit my lip. “I know. I’m Sami.”

“I know.”

We shared a quick laugh and then I looked back up at him. “That’s a pretty good start.”

Peter seemed a little awkward about what he said next but went with it anyways. “Um, this might sound like a random question, but… I’ve noticed you around. Like, a lot. But you never hang around anyone in particular. You never really… talk much to anyone. Did you just move here, or something?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I moved here over the summer. It’s… complicated. I guess I just haven’t made many friends yet.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Okay, cool. Then I guess we’ll—”

Suddenly the bell rang, and I almost dropped the books I was stuffing inside my locker. “Shoot, I gotta go…”

“Yeah, me too—”

I didn’t have much time to wave to him before I had to be straight off to the class I was almost late for. It wasn’t that I was trying to run away from him but being late for class was one of my worst fears. Not just the consequences of it, but also having to come in late in front of everyone… the idea was nightmare fuel.

Actually, I really did feel bad about ditching him so quickly, but there was nothing I could do about it. But now I felt like our chances of ever talking again were smaller than ever, which was a decent thing from the way Tony wanted me to see it.

I guess I was wrong.

When last period came, I entered my Physics class with the expectation of taking some notes, finishing a pop quiz, and being done for the day. I was shocked to find out that today we’d be starting a class project that I hadn’t previously known about. Of course, we had to pair up into partners. Not surprisingly, everyone in the class had the perfect buddy to pair up with, except… you guessed it. Me.

It wasn’t because I hated everyone. It’s just because I was the new kid who didn’t really have a best friend to pick, yet.

“Where’s Parker?” our teacher, Mr. Philips, finally asked abruptly as he was making sure everyone had a partner. I immediately started to look around, noticing Peter’s absence for the first time so far.

I figured he was out doing his spider-stuff, and probably thought he could afford to miss last period. I fought the urge to roll my eyes quite valiantly, in fact, as Mr. Philips shrugged and turned to me.

“Well, Peter was our last one, so I guess it’s you two,” he told me. I nodded quickly without hesitation, being fine with anyone I get paired with and _more_ than fine with Peter.

“Cool.”

I called Tony as soon as I walked out of the school. “Tony? Hey, uh, I’m not going to be straight home tonight. I think I have to do a project with my partner tonight for class.”

“Huh. Is this the first time you actually have something to do besides just come home after school? Of course, it’s still school related. You know, you should really get out more, kid.”

“You gotta start somewhere…” I muttered irritably.

“So, who’s your partner, anyway?”

“Uhh, Peter, actually…”

“What? I told you not to talk to him if you could avoid it!”

“Okay, Tony, number one that’s a stupid rule and number two… I didn’t ask to be paired with him; we were just the only ones left. Now, can I please have his number?”

_I guess we can do some more of that talking tonight, if you want. We’re partners for the Physics project and Mr. Philips said we should get to work on it tonight. – Sami_

_Oh and Mr. Philips gave me your number_

I winced and hoped my quick addition to the first text didn’t seem to suspicious and more normal sounding. Luckily his response didn’t take long.

_Right, okay, cool. I didn’t even know Mr. Philips had my number_

I closed my eyes and hoped he wasn’t as onto me as he seemed by that skeptical text. The next one followed almost immediately, though, to my relief.

_But it’s cool that we're partners (thumbs up emoticon) Where are you? My place or yours?_

_Just outside the school. And yours, please_

_Okay be there in a sec._

By a sec, he really meant a _sec._ Peter came running up only moments later, right toward me. He looked at me quickly. “Hey, so I have a little… something to take care of for my aunt… uh, shopping… so I’ll just give you the directions to our apartment and meet you there, okay? It’ll only be a couple minutes, but I can’t go yet…”

I shrugged, grinning at him sheepishly. “Okay, that’s fine.”

About fifteen minutes later I was walking down a hall in an apartment building, not far from the school, hoping with all I had that I was in the right place. I mustered up a good bit of courage and knocked on the door that read the apartment number Peter had given me.

“Um, hi. Are you… May? Peter’s aunt?”

“Yes, I am.” I was met by a woman with brown hair and glasses that I instantly recognized from the movie, but I had to pretend to be just seeing her for the first time. However, I swiftly learned that she was seriously pretty and nice in real life. “Sorry, who…?”

“Peter sent me here, we’re supposed to be working on a project for Physics, but he said he has some stuff to do first, so I guess I’ll just… wait for him?”

May rolled her eyes. “Of course he did. I’m sorry about that, sweetie, come on in. I’ll get you a snack and a drink or something, and I’ll have a talk with Peter about sending friends here, alone…”

I was eating a couple chocolate chip cookies and drinking a glass of lemonade, casually conversing with May, whom I realized was even more cool and nice than she seemed in the movie, when Peter strode in, looking the slightest bit out of breath. I figured that he had stopped just outside the door to catch his breath from rushing, probably fixed his hair and taken a deep breath before entering.

“Hey, what did I miss?” he asked, smiling a little at the two of us. His aunt cleared her throat before replying with clear annoyance.

“Oh, not much, we’ve just been talking,” May told him. “Mainly about what a horrible host you were for making your partner walk here alone and sneaking off to do something without making sure she didn’t get lost, or anything.”

“Aunt May…” Peter made a noise of protest in his throat, and she cocked her head at him like she dared him to give an excuse. “It’s… not like that. I wanted to – but I—”

“Yeah, okay, we’re having a talk about this later. It’s been almost thirty minutes, kiddo. The polite thing to do would have been to walk her here and cleared everything with me before going off, instead of sending her over with no warning for an indefinite amount of time. For all you knew, the house could’ve been a wreck, or I could’ve had plans tonight…” Peter tried to say something again, but the woman cut him off abruptly. “Just say sorry, to both of us, and get started on your work.”

“Sorry, Sami and Aunt May,” he muttered, shifting his feet around and glancing up at me as I bit my lip. With that he led me to his room to set down his backpack. While I followed him May winked at me and whispered,

“I love pretending to be all strict with him like that when he has friends over.”

“So, do you live around here?”

My head snapped up at Peter as I began stowing my stuff back into my backpack, feeling confident about our plan for the project. I was taken aback by his sudden question, and he seemed to notice that.

“Uh, sorry if that’s too personal, I didn’t mean it like that. I just literally know nothing about you and I don’t really know… how to start.”

I zipped up my bag and crossed my arms. “Well, maybe don’t start out with that. Of course I live around here – we go to school together. You're asking where I live, which isn’t something new friends come right out and ask each other.”

I made sure to follow this up with light laugh to show that I wasn’t creeped out by him, yet, but he kept pressing.

“I don’t know, Sami, there's… something about you, like you’ve got a secret that you don’t want anyone to know about, and I’m really curious.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, I just don’t like sharing everything about me with people I don’t really know. And I could say the same about you, Peter. You know, I didn’t see any grocery bags when you came in.”

_I know what you’re going to say. Listen, it’s different. My secrets are just different. Yeah, I know all about his life, but he’s still not being truthful about it. I get that he’s protecting people from knowing who he is, but so am I. And I just can’t bring myself to lie to him._

Peter winced and scratched his back uncomfortably. “Okay, that’s not fair…”

“Neither is asking me where I live,” I argue softly. “Listen, maybe… maybe one day you can find out more about my life. But for now, I… I shouldn’t share that much. It’s better if you don’t know anything about me.”

He raised his hands for me to slow down. “Wait… what? You shouldn’t…? So this isn’t about being weird? You really can’t tell me?”

I didn’t let him go on. “See you tomorrow.”

I finally got back to the tower at around nine-thirty, which wasn’t too bad, but for me I guess it would be considered pretty late. I took the elevator up to my bedroom, sighing and setting down my stuff on my bed. I looked up.

“Let me guess, Tony wants to see me?”

“I was just about to notify you,” FRIDAY replied. I smirked and nodded.

“Tell him I’ll be right down to his lab.”

I didn’t waste any time in heading to where I knew Tony would be, though not before grabbing a snack from the small kitchen just outside my room.

“Hey, Tony.”

He looked back at me from whatever he was working on. “Well, it’s about time. What took you so long?”

I popped an M&M in my mouth nonchalantly, noting his half aggravated and half worried tone. “We had a lot to plan out and supplies to get. And uh, Miss Parker got us dinner.”

Tony snorted. “Miss Parker… you’re so—”

“What? Respectful?”

“I was going more for old-fashioned.”

I sighed heavily. “Just because I don’t like being treated like a kid doesn’t mean I don’t realize that I am one. I just think it’s… weird calling adults by their names, especially when I hardly know them.”

“Then you’d better start calling me Mr. Stark,” he remarked. “Or do I not count?”

“You definitely do not count.”

Tony smiled and began to saunter around the room. “So… what did you two talk about?”

“Tony!”

“What? I just want to make sure you’re holding up to our deal.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I remember what you said.” I switched to my deep, dumb-sounding Tony-impression just to mock him. “’You can talk to him, but I swear if you give him any information about where you’re from, your family, that you live with me, anything, I’m sending you to foster care like I should have done the first time.’”

Tony whistled at me, like he was impressed. “Impeccable memory, Sami. I’m glad to know that my threat stuck with you.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Yeah, well, I still don’t get it. Why don’t you want him to know anything about me? He asked me tonight and I told him no, which made me seem like a total jerk. I don’t like it.”

“Sami, you don’t understand. Peter’s a kid. You’re a kid. There are things I want to keep from him because… he doesn’t know when to mind his own business. You saw that whole mess with the jet. That could’ve all been avoided if Peter hadn’t taken it all on himself to save the day.”

“He saved that guy’s life!”

“Which _he_ endangered in the first place,” Tony pointed out sharply. “Look, I’m not saying that he didn’t do the right thing, I guess I’m glad he acted and all that… I’m just saying that for now, he doesn’t need to know that you’re a part of this because that would just give him that many more chances to interfere. I need him… doing his own thing. He’s not ready for this yet, he’s not even on your level of knowledge, Sam.”

I pursed my lips and made a pouty face at him. I waited a minute before answering. “Well, I get that you’re just being overprotective of him, but it’s still stupid.”

He looked satisfied. “Good. You see it my way.”

I traced on my left hand with my right before inhaling. “Well, I’m gonna head to bed…”

“Right. To stay on your phone until almost midnight. You don’t have to ask. FRIDAY keeps me updated.”

“That’s an invasion of my privacy!” I complained, but I knew it would change absolutely nothing.

“Hey, also, how did your planning go? You and the kid are going to win, right?”

“It’s not a contest… it’s just for a grade.”

Tony waved this off. “Everything’s a contest. There’s always one project that the teacher recognizes as the best, whether they say so or not, and I expect you to have it. You’ve got Peter helping you, anyway.”

“High expectations ruin kids’ lives!” I was quick to fire at him.

“Not yours!” he hollered back. You know, he probably had a point. I scoffed and closed the door to the lab on my way out.

(almost a year ago, a week after I first came to the _Marvel_ world)

I was making the finishing touches to my new living space one morning inside Tony’s tower when a voice sounded over the intercom. I looked up from where I was straightening my sheets.

“Uh, Sam, could you come down to the conference floor really quick? I need to talk to you.”

“Sure, just a sec.”

His voice didn’t sound angry with me, which was the most relieving thing. He seemed… very thoughtful. I couldn’t help but wonder what he could need me for. I had no clue what I could have done. I left my bedroom and didn’t want to waste any time in meeting him downstairs.

“What was that about?”

I turned to see Steve standing in the small hallway outside my room, watching me after clearly hearing the message in his own temporary room. I scratched the back of my neck, playing off my slight shock in seeing him actually speak to me.

“Honestly, I have no idea. It almost makes me nervous. I haven’t even seen him since like yesterday morning before breakfast.”

“I wonder what he’s been up to…”

“Well, I guess I’d better go find out.”

“Hey,” Steve said, catching my attention before I can leave. “I’m heading out pretty soon. I’ve stuck around long enough, I think.”

“What?” I furrowed my eyebrows. “Where are you going?”

He smiled at my concern. “I’m not exactly set on a certain place, but I know I can’t stay here forever.”

I smirked. “You’re going to try to find Bucky, aren’t you?”

Steve looked incredulous but not quite surprised. “How do you – wait, never mind. I guess you would know about all that since you’ve seen movies that are apparently about things that haven’t even happened yet. Well, I, uh, gotta be honest. I probably will, at some point. Soon. But I also want to give him some space. I don’t know, there’s a lot to figure out right now.”

I hummed. “Well, you should know that I support you by wanting to trust him and not hurting him, you know… during all that. Bucky… he’s, well… he’s your best friend. So I think you’re doing the right thing.”

He didn’t appear convinced of this yet. “Is there any chance I could get you to give me some information about this? At least how this all turns out, maybe? Or the best course of action?”

I restrained myself from comforting him. “Sorry, I can’t. Shouldn’t. I wish I could, but… all I can say right now is that it won’t be easy, as I’m sure you know, but it’ll be okay, in the end. As far as I know.”

“That’s reassuring…” Steve muttered before looking back up at me with a faint twinkle in his eye. “But I get it. Thanks.”

I bit my lip. “Will you be back to visit, or anything?”

He was reluctant to answer this with a yes or no. “I’m sure I’ll see you around. I’m not leaving until I hear what Tony needs you for, anyways, so it’s not goodbye yet. You’d better get down there.” I nodded.

“I’ll make sure to bring you back a report.”

I found Tony on the conference floor, standing at the small table in the living space, his hand placed on a small stack of documents. He saw me and averted his eyes slightly.

“Hey, Tony,” I began slowly, trying to get a read on him. For such an… out there man, he appeared very uncomfortable. “What’s up? Am I in trouble? Is something… wrong?”

“You’re not in trouble, and… not exactly.”

“Then… what?” Tony clenched his jaw, and I went on. “Should I sit down, or something?”

He gestured to the chair on the side of the table and I decided to go ahead and take it. My stomach was filled with churning nerves, because whatever this was seemed to really be eating Tony. I could tell by his loss for words.

“I’ve been dealing with switching you over, making a new identity for you and everything. I think most of it’s straight. I have a school for you, and all that… but we’ve run into a little snag. Legal stuff.” He paused, scratching his neck and fiddling with the pen between his fingers.

“Okay, what is it?”

“Thing is, apparently you can’t just… live here.”

He struggled to get it all out, but once he did, I looked down, trying to get what he was saying. “Oh. Oh, okay, so… where would I live, then? It’s fine, I can—”

“No, no, you’re not getting me here. The problem is that you’re still a minor, and you’re also technically an orphan, now, so… I called you down here so that I could ask you, uh—”

“Oh, Tony. I… I, uh, wow.” I blinked and tried not to let this news get to me. “You know, it’s really okay, I understand that you… did everything you could do. And I know we’ve only known each other for less than a month. So I guess my only option is foster care, then—”

“No, no, Sami, you’re still not getting this.” Tony chuckled grimly and seemed to be on the verge of frustration, which made me watch him closely, almost frustrated myself. I wished he would just tell me. He sat down diagonally from me and inhaled. “I’m not – I don’t want to send you into foster care. It’s not fair. And listen, it’s also… not your only option. Just… here.”

He slid the paper on the top of the stack over towards me gingerly, and I eyed him carefully as I moved it closer so that I could read it. He raised his eyebrows expectantly, and I shifted my gaze downwards.

It was a legal terms and conditions-type document, so my eyes immediately glazed over as I scanned it, but I did catch a couple things in the jumble of big words which took me by surprise.

_Terms, consent, junk, conditions, legal guardian, adoption… wait, adoption? Legal guardian?_

“Hold on a second…” I attempted to get a grip on my hitched breaths. I dared to meet his eyes. He shrugged.

“But… but you want… to – to…?”

“Thinking about it,” Tony replied slowly. “But if it’s this hard to believe…”

“No, no, I just… um, I don’t know what to say.”

"I wanted to ask you before making it… official. It’s, you know, actually a pretty big move for me, and I thought I should clear everything with you first. I technically have to get your consent, anyway.”

I cleared my throat and found it difficult to see straight. My stomach was full of butterflies, now, but not the worried kind. The excited, shocked kind. “I, um, Tony, this is… I never imagined that—”

I quickly got choked up and he scolded me.

“Please, don’t go getting all emotional on me, kid. I’m trying to make it through this as easily and painlessly as possible. But there’s no sugar-coating this decision, either. I know you don’t want to go into foster care, which is okay. I see that as a last resort, not an option. You’ve already lost way too much for… for a kid. And I know a bit about what makes a crappy father, too. I think I can break the cycle of shame.”

I sniffed and tried furiously to wipe my eyes. I longed for him to stop making me cry but I didn’t want him to stop talking. My entire thought process was a whirlwind of disbelief and thrill and appreciation – I had no clue how to express it all.

“Tony…”

“Yeah?”

“…You’ve only known me for less than a month.”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s been a lot less than a month. That’s hardly an excuse, though, after all I’ve put you through. Are you complaining already? It’s not final, yet, so I don’t have to—”

“No, I’m not complaining, I’d never complain about this. I… Tony, I’m really happy. I just don’t understand why you’d want to… you know.”

“Because you’re a good kid who has lost their entire world and the least I can do is give you a… home. A place to come back to. You’re not ready to be out on your own yet, you’re fifteen, and you need to be able to be a kid as long as you can. That shouldn’t have been taken away from you, but it has, and it’s on me. You’re kinda my responsibility, now.”

Tony stared at me as if impatiently awaiting my answer, so I figured I should say something.

“I… I can’t believe this…”

“Well, what do you say?”

“Yes,” I told him quickly. “Yes, that would be… amazing, Tony.”

He took a deep breath. “It’s just for a few years until you turn eighteen. And I’m not planning on being a stay-at-home-dad or anything like that—” He laughed sharply and shook his head at himself. I wasn’t offended whatsoever. The gesture alone was more than I ever expected out of him. He went on after interrupting himself.

“You shouldn’t have a problem taking care of yourself. Especially not here in the tower.”

“Right, yeah, got it, absolutely. And you have Pepper, so it’ll be fine.”

“Uh-huh. Yep. So I’m gonna sign this paper… He bit his lip. “Last chance to reconsider.”

I smirked. “I think I know what I’m getting into. But do you? I’m actually pretty good about minding my own business and giving you your privacy, unlike most teenagers.”

“Coulda fooled me…”

I crossed my arms. “I am. And I’m pretty simple, you know, so I promise I won’t be much trouble.”

“I love how you’re talking this up to me, now, after I’ve been trying this whole time to convince you that I’m doing the right thing here. We’re obviously not great at making big, life-altering decisions, are we?”

The tears in my eyes lingered and Tony obviously saw this but made no comment on it. I looked up at him.

“Could I, uh, hug you?”

He sighed. “I knew this was coming.” He met my eyes for a split second. “Make it quick.”

I immediately stood from my chair and wrapped my arms around him. Both of them, which was rare for me. I pressed my head slightly down onto his shoulder, and to my surprise, he didn’t protest. I supposed he was trying really hard not to.

I crossed my arms and tried so hard for an unreadable poker face, clearing my throat. “Uh, well, um, this is pretty cool. Actually, this… this is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.”

“Yeah, uh, don’t sweat it, kid.”

“Also, what… what should I call you? I honestly don’t think this will really change very much between us, so—”

"Mr. Stark will be fine,” Tony cut me off. “But this isn’t Annie, or anything like that. I am not going to be Mr. Warbanks… is that his name?”

I exhaled and finally my wet eyes started to dry out of annoyance and humor about how wrong he was. “It’s Warbucks.” I turned to leave but he stopped me before I could get far.

“I’m kidding, Sam. You can just call me Tony, if you want. I’ll just be like your older, genius, billionaire big brother.”

“Yep, that’s a really nice thought. Thanks for that.”

I returned to my room that night to find a note laid out on my neatly made bed. I recognized it as Steve’s handwriting on the front of the piece of paper folded in on itself, with my name on the outside. My heart swelled with disappointment, as I presumed that he must have already left. I made haste to open it curiously.

_Sami,_

_I overheard the news. Sorry. I did say that I would leave after I found out, and I didn’t want to drag this out if I didn’t have to. I would tell you that I’m as surprised to hear it as you are, but I don’t think that’s exactly true._

_Congratulations on the adoption, kid. I’m happy for you. I think Tony’s decision was the best one for you, because you’re different. This could be really good. I hope something positive will come out of this for him, too. I’m sure there will. Tony’s actually a good man. I know it’s hard for me to get on the same page with him most of the time, but he does try to do what’s right, even if it’s in his own way, and acknowledges his mistakes. I wouldn’t leave you with him if I didn’t believe that, because I do feel a sort of responsibility for you, too._

_I will see you around. And if you ever need anything, you know who to call. I’ll be there.  
-Steve_

I folded the letter back up, all of this really hitting me hard. It feels so good, but so new, and uncharted… and yet I still felt really happy. My eyes were brimming with tears and I had to sit down on my bed to process all of this.

It had to be a dream. There was no way that—

“Sami,” a voice suddenly called over the intercom, and I could see his face on a small screen that popped up on my desk. “I forgot to mention to Pepper that I’m adopting a child. I’m definitely in trouble.”

I laughed and pressed the button for my own microphone and video across the tower. “I’m sure she’ll be okay with it. I think she likes me, anyway. Besides, this isn’t the craziest thing you’ve ever done to her.”

Tony hesitated. “You’ve got a point, but… still come down later and help me explain. That’s an order. I have to make sure this isn’t some kind of screwed up dream.”

I smiled and realized that he was having the same time with this as I was. Tony flipping Stark was going to… to adopt me. I wasn’t going to be alone. I didn’t have to be an orphan. I could have a family. A makeshift one, but it made no difference to me.

I laid down on my back and closed my eyes, trying to savor this moment of contentment. And yet I knew that I still had no clue what the heck I was in for.


	2. Chapter 2

I inhaled and narrowed my vision in front of me. Tony crossed his arms. He spoke up in my hesitation. “You do know how to put the car in reverse, right?”

I looked up to the sky and longed for patience. “Yes, Tony. I can put the car in _reverse_ …”

“Then what’s taking you so long?” he demanded.

“I’m preparing myself mentally for this!”

“Well, I don’t have all day. Get a move on.”

I sighed and put the car in gear, and started to drive, backing down and into the street. We were parked in the driveway of a nice-looking house in the middle of a small suburban neighborhood, which at first glance made me wonder when the last time Tony ever set foot in one of these was. I drove around the curves in the neighborhood a few times, slowly because of the speed limit. Then he motioned to a turn up ahead.

“Turn right onto that road up there,” he told me. I stared at him uncomfortably.

“What? But that’s… that’s a big road…”

“The speed limit’s just forty. Turn right, now, while no one’s coming.”

Tony looked at me like he dared me to disobey him and I cowered and did as he said immediately, feeling my heart rate pick up all the while.

“I’ve never driven on a road like this before…”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

I was finally getting used to the larger road when Tony broke the silent drive and directed me to the right again.

“Get on the ramp.”

I instantly recoiled and froze up. “Oh, no, no, that’s the interstate! Tony!”

“Get on it right now or I’ll drop you off right here, on the side of the road…”

“That’s not fair!”

“ _Now_ , Sami!”

“ _Ughhh_!”

I yanked the wheel to the right and sped up in order to get on the highway, screaming internally (and probably externally, I kinda blacked out). It was several minutes of the most painstaking, horrifying, dangerous, and _exaggerated_ driving experience I’d ever had.

No kidding.

And then Tony finally had enough. “Alright, I can’t do this anymore. Would you stop screaming? Gosh, just change lanes so you can pull over and I’ll drive you home.”

I perked up as soon as I heard this. “Okay, hold on.”

Sitting in the passenger seat of Tony’s sports car was perhaps the most relieving experience I had ever felt. With him at the wheel and my work finished, I allowed him to take the crazy busy highway back to the tower and just let myself breathe for the first time in what seemed like at least an hour.

“Yeah, so I’m gonna call Happy in to finish the rest of your lessons,” Tony announced, closing his car door as we got out in the garage of the tower. I couldn’t believe my ears.

“What? Why? Is it because I was freaking out so much? Listen, you shouldn’t have thrown me out onto the interstate before I was ready…”

“It’s no different than what you were doing before, it was just a little faster.” I huffed and crossed my arms as he went on. “I wanted to see how you would handle everything. And now Happy will just take over the driving lessons. Don’t worry, he’s a professional.”

I bit my lip, disappointed. “So, what, you’re passing it over to Happy because I stressed you out? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, I just got really nervous about everything and it was my first time actually driving on the road, so…”

“Relax, kid. The nerves were actually what I was worried about. I was more afraid you’d be _brave_ out there. Brave people make the worst drivers because they’re reckless. You’re the opposite of that, so it’s a good thing.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “Then what’s the deal? Did I do horrible? Because if so, I know I have a lot of things to work on, and if you told me what I did wrong—”

“You did fine, Sami. Stop worrying about it, ‘kay? It’s not like you’re done driving, it’s just that you’re done driving with _me_. I’m busy, anyways.”

My heart sank, and I couldn’t hide how upset I was to hear this. My chest heaved with emotion, and Tony caught sight of this.

“Is something up? Why are you so… against this? Is there a reason you’d like me to be the one to teach you? I didn’t think it mattered.”

I inhaled. “I just… I always imagined that it’d be… well, my dad, you know? And now I’m confused, because you said I did okay and yet you’re… I don’t know. I just wanted you to trust me with this. So, yeah, it does matter to me.”

He smirked. “One thing you gotta understand is that I do trust you, more than a lot of people. You have more ability than you think. And if I didn’t trust you, I would be finishing the lessons _myself_. I’m letting Happy take over because I know you’ll be fine. Also, try not to get so worked up about stuff. That’s your only problem.”

I was just standing there in disbelief as Tony headed out of the garage, calling back over his shoulder.

“I’ll let Happy know that you want to start out slow, but if you’re gonna start driving to school once you get your license, you may want to try out the interstate a little more.”

I furrowed my brow at him. “…To school? With what? Not one of these cars, surely. They’re _way_ too nice and expensive and I couldn’t risk scratching one of them, or something.”

“I’ll… work on that.”

\---

I had to admit, Tony and I had a pretty efficient system for keeping my situation under wraps. First of all, I was given a fake identity for school stuff, because if anyone found out that he and I were… related, that wouldn’t be good. For secrecy and publicity purposes. I had always wanted a pretty private life, and we both agreed that it was for my own good to give the school a false report of my family situation and a fake home address. Happy came in for parent-teacher meetings and took notes. He had people to handle everything else, of course. I wasn’t upset.

However, life with Tony also came with press junk. They never seemed to be able to get enough of him. I avoided that by refraining from going out with him in public without a hat or something. We just automatically agreed that it would be horrible if any sort of press, paparazzi, news, etc. caught wind that I had any sort of connection to him. I really didn’t need a whole bunch of people trying to find information about my life. Just… no thanks.

To solve this problem, I’d walked home from school every day, avoided any sort of human contact when I was anywhere near the tower, and stuck a ball cap down over my head in case security cameras were around, or something. I never knew what to expect with how much could be recorded and released to the public these days, so I’d always liked to be as cautious as possible. And yet, with all this extra precaution I went to, I didn’t ever expect to be caught by… well, him.

I usually kept my hat on until I got to the back of the tower, where there was a small door that was programmed to open only when I scanned my hand on the hidden screen beside it. I liked to think it was my own special secret entrance, but in _this_ tower, it wasn’t all that fancy, really, in comparison to all Tony’s tech. Just as I slipped around the corner, a voice called out.

“Hey, you live in _Avengers’ Tower_?” A high school kid with brown hair stood behind me with an excited, shocked look on his face, gesturing up to the tower we stood behind.

I spun on my heels in a split-second, eyes wide in disbelief. Then it turned to anger.

“Peter?” I demanded. “You _followed_ … me _home_? I, uh, mean, I don’t live here, of course I don’t… I’m just—”

“Yeah, you do,” he argued. “You have to. That’s, like, a secret door right there, right? Just for you? That’s really cool! I didn’t know—”

“Yeah, that’s the point! And it’s not _cool_ , Peter! You followed me home. You’re stalking me.”

“No, that’s not true, I just wanted to…”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe you’d… look, I gotta go.”

“But, Sami, wait, I only—”

“No, there’s no excuse for this.” I scowled at him and turned away. “Bye.”

I stormed into the building quickly and the door locked behind me. I didn’t say another word to Peter out of frustration and I made my way up to my room, as the thoughts started swirling in my mind about what this meant. Now that Peter knew my secret, he’d start the guessing game as long as I kept quiet about it. He’d tell Ned, of course, his closest confidant, and never leave me alone about it. I’d also have to break the news to Tony that the very thing we’d tried too hard to keep secret was all for nothing.

And I had just began to feel like I had sorted everything out and gotten to be pretty good friends with Peter.

I sat up in my room and pulled out a book, which was sure to help me think. I actually didn’t read a word of it – the last thing my brain was able to do right now was focus. I was really just trying to figure out when and how to explain all this to Tony, who was certain to be mad at me. It was all Peter’s fault,

I sighed when my phone started buzzing every few seconds. He was definitely texting me to apologize. I only dared to check it after the fifth time it lit up.

_Please don’t be mad at me, Sami. I’m really sorry._

_I just was curious to see where you lived, like the neighborhood and stuff… to be fair I’ve known you for almost two years and you’ve been to my apartment SEVERAL times. You just disappear after school every day and it killed me, not knowing. And I was bored today, so…_

_But as soon as you got to the tower I just flipped out! I actually know Mr. Stark, a little._

_It’s just really cool, and now I see why you were hiding it from me. Sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal._

_I shouldn’t have followed you but now that I know I promise I won’t tell anyone! I’m really good at keeping secrets._

I smirked as I read these messages, mulling it over in my brain. He couldn’t have meant it in a bad way. I guessed that we had been a little foolish to think that Peter would never find out, when he was so connected to Tony and he and I went to the same school. I supposed that I wasn’t honestly mad at him, only about what had happened.

My phone vibrated twice more, and I looked down at it.

_Please talk to me. I know you’re mad, you have the right to be. But I have so many questions and I won’t tell anyone! Not even Ned._

_Okay maybe that’s a stretch. But only Ned. And he has no other friends._

I rolled my eyes and positioned my fingers to answer him, finally.

_I guess you were bound to find out someday. What you did is not okay, but I have a lot to explain to you, I suppose. I’m still mad at you, by the way. You’re not off the hook yet_

Peter hesitated to reply.

_…That’s fair._

_So when are you planning to explain?_

_I don’t know, tomorrow? Meet me after school somewhere. Do you have a place where we can just talk?_

_We could go to Delmar’s. The owner is nice. He won’t tell anyone if he hears something._

I stared at my phone as if it had annoyed me, pursing my lips.

_Yeah, well he’s not going to hear anything if I can help it. You weren’t even supposed to know about this. I wasn’t supposed to hang out with you._

_So Mr. Stark asked you to keep it a secret from me?_

He clearly thought he was so smart, but I wasn’t having it. I typed up a quick response and hit send.

_I’m not answering anything until tomorrow. Everything’s so complicated, now_

_Well maybe you shouldn’t have kept it a secret from me in the first place!_

_Yeah, you’re one to talk._

_I don’t know what you’re talking about…_

_Right. I think we have a lot to go over tomorrow._

_\---_

I rubbed my face with my hand and looked up at Peter, bracing myself for our discussion. I wasn’t mad at him anymore, really. Just aggravated at… I didn’t exactly know what. At least he seemed regretful and apologetic when I arrived at Delmar’s, which calmed me down a bit. I also couldn’t hide how much I did like him. Peter was a good guy. I couldn’t deny that.

He suggested we get some food, and I agreed quickly, as I was starting to get hungry and the sandwiches that were sold inside the small deli looked delicious. We took our small meal outside and sat on a bench to talk.

“So, you live with Mr. Stark…” he said, swallowing the first bite of his flat Cuban. The best in New York, in fact. “How did that happen?”

“It’s a long story,” I admitted slowly. “It’s an interdimensional thing, I guess you could say. Which means it’s very complicated.”

Peter almost choked. “Inter… interdimensional? Like, you’re from another… _universe_?”

I nodded reluctantly. “But it’s more like an alternate reality. It’s not much different from this one, except that… well, none of you exist. Not you, or the Avengers, or Tony…”

“Wait, you call Mr. Stark _Tony_?” he asked, as if questioning his very existence. I found myself laughing.

“Yeah, that’s another thing but it’s a completely different story,” I said. “If you want me to be honest… you should totally keep calling him Mr. Stark. He likes it, for sure. It helps with the ego. And after this, you want to be on the best terms possible with him, I think.”

Peter raised his eyebrows and thought about this. “You’re probably right. So… back to the other dimension thing? How did you, uh, get here?”

“Well, the Avengers appeared in my world, like, right after their battle. Yeah, they were still in their suits and everything. I found them and managed to hide them until I could get some help. They kept me around because I knew who they were.”

“You got to hang out with the whole team?” he asked in surprise. I shrugged.

“It would have been a lot more fun if I didn’t have to hide them from my family. And oh, did I mention that I got kidnapped by a shady government organization for what they thought was terrorist activity?”

His eyes grew wide. “ _What_? No way! Sorry, keep going, keep going, this is crazy. Wait, so how did you know who they were, if they didn’t exist in your universe?”

I smirked and suddenly a strange feeling made my chest puff up – I realized it was a certain sense of pride. Surprising Spider-Man just felt good, I guessed.

“I knew them because in my universe, this one… well, it’s a movie series.”

“Like… like _Star Wars_? What were they about?”

I inhaled and forced my eyes onto his. This was definitely going to be a very long discussion, especially since he was probably an even bigger nerd than me.

While he was sitting on the bench in awe, thinking over my entire story that had ended with Tony adopting me and then putting me at his school – totally not so that I could spy on him, I left that part out – I decided to bring up the subject of his own secrets.

“You know, since I did watch a bunch of those _Marvel_ movies and Tony tells me a lot of things, I happen to know that you haven’t exactly been straight with me, either.

Peter’s eyes dropped to the sidewalk and he laughed nervously. “Oh, you know about that, huh?”

“Yeah, I do. But actually… I’m not mad at you for not telling me. I get it. It’s how you protect people. And plus, I had no reason to know, so…”

“Well I didn’t know that you were with Mr. Stark! If I had, I would have _so_ told you.”

I smirked. “Right.”

“So, you used to live in Florida… you’re not used to the city, then, are you? I bet it would be a hard transition.”

I raised my eyebrows at him in surprise. “That’s the first time anyone’s ever asked me about what it was like moving here. Not even Tony has mentioned it.”

“Really? That’s weird. It’s the first thing I thought of when you said you’re from the south. It’s probably a lot different than New York. Here, things can get… crazy.”

“You’re telling me.” I bit my lip. “Uh, well, yeah, you’re right. It has been pretty different. I was just really used to living in a small town where the nicest place within a mile of where we lived was a gas station.”

Peter seemed genuinely shocked after hearing this. “Wow, so you must really have a lot to get used to.” He thought for a moment. “How about I give you your own personal tour of the city?”

I was confused. “I’ve already seen a lot of New York… I’ve been here for a year, you know.”

“But you haven’t seen it from my perspective,” he argued. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“Okay, fine,” I relented, smiling at him. “Then when is this personal tour going to happen?”

“Uh, meet me later tonight. I’ll text you.”

My mouth opened, and I didn’t know how to respond, unsure if I could even find the words quick enough. “Later tonight? Why? Can’t we just do it now?

“No, tonight will be better! Just trust me.”

I sighed. “Whatever…” By the time I looked back at him, Peter had already disappeared. However, I had no clue that when he said his _perspective_ that he meant… literally from his usual perspective.

\---

Nine o’clock rolled by that night, and I still hadn’t heard a word from Peter. I whipped out my phone and texted him impatiently.

_Where are you? It’s getting late on a school night. I don’t see how you could give me a tour when it’s this dark._

_That’s the point. This is going to be fun. Be there to pick you up in ten._

I pursed my lips and shut my phone off, deciding to get ready to meet Peter, but I was _not_ with going out this late and walking all over the city. I hoped he had a decent plan, and worried why he was being so secretive about this.

Of course, I could never get out of the tower without a questionnaire.

“Hey, where ya going?”

I spun to face Tony, who was eyeing me as I started to head out through the garage. I was wearing my usual cap – I never forgot it – and just jeans and a tee-shirt. But he was used to seeing me getting ready for bed about this time. I hardly ever left any time after seven-thirty

“Oh, uh, Peter actually invited me to um… take a tour of the city. I guess he just has some things he wants to show me. Don’t worry, I won’t be back late. It shouldn’t take very long. And I’ll be safe, promise.”

Tony looked very skeptical of this. “Why do you need a tour of the city? You’ve seen it all by now. And why does Peter even care about that?”

“I don’t know, I told him that I haven’t lived in New York for very long, so he probably just wants to help me get a good view of the city. Honestly, he won’t tell me where exactly we’re going, but he insisted on this, so I’m just… seeing what it’s all about.”

He raised an eyebrow at me, but luckily didn’t protest any further.

“Fine. But I’m calling at ten if you’re not back.” I smiled at him reassuringly before making my way all the way out of the tower to find Peter. I finally saw him making his way down the dark sidewalk about a block away, and I waved at him expectantly. He ran over to meet me.

“Hey!”

I made a face at him. “Alright, how about you get to explaining what we’re actually doing out here? Because I’m confused and… slightly concerned that you won’t tell me anything.”

Peter smiled knowingly. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be so worth it! And you can see everything when you’re up high.”

My eyes widened. “ _Up high_?”

He ignored me and instead began getting ready for something. He slipped a red mask over his head after making sure no one was looking and turned to me suddenly.

“You said you know my secret, right?”

“Yeah… but I don’t see how—”

Before I could finish, he pulled his pants off as well as a baggy shirt and jacket, to reveal his spider-suit underneath. My jaw dropped as this was the first time I’d seen it up close.

“Why… why do you need the suit for…?”

Peter still didn’t answer and gestured for me to step behind him. I did as he asked, perplexed. He promptly grabbed my arms and wrapped them around his neck and proceeded to clasp them together and spray webbing all over them. I made several noises of protest, all inaudible until it registered in my brain what he could be doing. I still wanted to ask, though.

“ _Peter Parker, what the heck are you doing_?”

“Showing you the city! Hold on!”

My brain didn’t even have time to process what was going on before Peter shot his webs up to the side of the nearest building and with a tug, we were both flying up into the air and forward. My stomach practically ejected from my body, or maybe floated away into the astral dimension, I wasn’t sure. But it left me feeling empty and full of an adrenaline rush. The city flew past me in a blur and I couldn’t make out anything because my face was forced upward. I screamed from a mix of terror and… I didn’t know what else.

“Are you okay?” he yelled back to me.

“No! No, Peter, I’m not _okay_!”

Almost immediately our wild ride came to a halt and I finally opened my eyes to see that we were standing on a random, bare rooftop. I stared at Peter, who watched with concern.

“Man, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I’ve never done this before and… I thought it would be fun.”

I still couldn’t speak. I tried my best to process all of this, but it didn’t happen yet. I finally caught my breath and turned to look at him, but he kept going.

“Should I take you home? Are you feeling sick? I should have known you wouldn’t be able to take the force of it...”

I swallowed. “What… where were we going?”

Peter pursed his lips and gestured off into the distance. “There’s a really tall building across the city. I wanted to take you up there because of the view. It’s where I like to sit and think, sometimes. But I can only get there…”

“By swinging there,” I supplied. “Right.”

He averted his gaze and inhaled to speak, likely to suggest a different course of action, but I didn’t let him.

“Why’d you stop?”

It was like I had asked him if the sky was falling. “Why…? Because I asked… and you said you weren’t okay, so what was I supposed to think? You seemed terrified, so I stopped.”

I smiled suddenly. “I was pretty scared, but I didn’t think you would stop. And that was at first. Maybe next time just give me a little more warning.”

“Right, got it.” Peter approached the edge of the rooftop slowly, and then looked back at me. “So you wanna keep going?”

I shrugged. “Maybe…”

“Come on, now that I know you had at least a little fun, we can make it. Do you trust me?”

I crossed my arms and didn’t dare to look over the edge. “Uhh…”

He grinned and put his mask back on, then got me back into position with my arms around his neck, stuck together with webbing like before. However, he didn’t move until I answered him.

“Do you trust me?” he asked again.

“Yeah,” I admitted after a moment. “I d—”

“Here we _go_!”

I had zero time to think before we were free-falling off the side of the building. I clenched my eyes shut and braced myself for impact as I held my breath, but at what seemed like the very last second Peter shot his webs out and we rocketed back upward. I didn’t know if I was screaming or not. Peter certainly was, but out of delight instead.

“Hey,” he told me after a few seconds and the rush slowed a bit. “Open your eyes.”

“I can’t… I don’t like rollercoasters, I—”

“Just trust me. You get used to the feeling when you can see what’s going on.”

My heart was still pounding without wavering but I chose to believe Peter’s confident, pleading words, and opened my eyes slowly. The way we swung was actually pretty smooth, more so than it had previously felt with my eyes closed, and the city whizzed past in a blur of color. My hair was blowing back and the cool night air felt really nice on my skin. I could tell that the Spider-Man was smiling through his struggle to keep our momentum going.

And then I found my own self smiling. It was like Peter could tell.

“Are you having fun yet?”

“Maybe!” I shouted back.

It didn’t take us long to reach the building that I figured was our destination, but then I saw that this was just the easy part. Even though we were already pretty high up, we had about fifteen stories or so of a climb to reach the top.

“Are we going all the way up there?” I asked frantically as Peter climbed.

“Not all the way, but… almost.”

He used his sticky spider hands to attach to the glass of the windows on the skyscraper and took us up and up. About halfway to the top, Peter was starting to suck wind, and I bit my lip.

“Are you sure you want to do this? It must be hard enough for you to climb up here by yourself, much less carrying me…”

“I can’t stop now,” he murmured back, powering through. I frowned, knowing he was right. My body was tight with fear already, as I’m sure his was, so I decided to compliment him rather than suggest we stop.

“Well, I don’t mean that I _want_ to stop. It’s a good thing that I don’t have a fear of heights.” The tops of the other buildings seemed to be below us, now, and I swallowed, forcing myself to look back up. “You’re pretty strong. It’s amazing.”

Just as soon as I finished, Peter found a sudden burst of energy and propelled us even higher with a jump, reaching across the dark glass. I could see our reflection in the empty windows with the city lights behind us as we zoomed by.

About five minutes, we’d reached the ledge that he wanted to get to, and Peter was quick to plop down on it, undoing the webs that connected my fingers. I shook my hands around and stretched out my shoulders, because now they were sore from being yanked around, but I didn’t dare complain. I did, however, have to steady my shaky legs and look towards the building and not out at the city that was now below us.

After taking a breather for a few short moments, Peter was quick to look back at me with concern. “Hey, are you okay?”

I scowled. “I should be asking you the same thing…”

“I’m fine,” he assured me. “Don’t you want to sit down?”

“I, uh… I can’t look down.”

I didn’t know how he did it. And I couldn’t understand why this was _nice_. I was just barely able to hold on, bracing myself against the side of the building behind us. We were at the top of a huge skyscraper, facing the city that was now very, very far below us, and the wind was blowing up here so much that I felt woozy, like one strong gust could take me down. My heart was racing with total fear.

Then Peter stood and put an arm around my waist encouragingly. “Then don’t,” he supplied. “Look, I’m right here, and it’s perfectly safe. You said you trust me, right?”

I blew out of my mouth slowly, trying not to give in to the feeling of slight nausea. “I don’t know what I was thinking… why did I do this…”

“It feels better when you turn around and sit. You gotta see this, Sami.”

I sighed and finally gave in to him, gripping his arm as I sat down on the ledge and swung my legs over the side. I really couldn’t look down that far, though, so I kept my focal point straight ahead, out at the city in front of us.

And for the first time, it took my breath away. In a good way, for sure. I realized what I had been missing before I was looking at all this closely. What I saw now was a sparkling city that buzzed with life and light, shining to make its mark in the darkness. The tall buildings around us seemed less daunting and more beautiful as they reached up into the sky. And right across from us, a couple of miles in the distance, stood Avengers Tower, complete with its bright letter _A_ at the top. Everything seemed peaceful and not nearly as frightening as it had felt when we were swinging frantically through it all. Only when I didn’t look down.

I had to remember to close my mouth. “Wow,” I whispered, practically breathless.

Peter smirked as all four of our legs dangled over the edge of the ledge where we sat. He nodded. “Right? I figured I shouldn’t be the only one able to experience this.”

I stared at him quizzically, something having dawned on me. “Why did you pick me, you know, to show this to?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, I couldn’t really get Ned up here as easily as I could you.”

I snorted so loud it hurt my nose and Peter’s eyes sparkled with humor as he grinned. I looked away and began to apologize quickly.

“Sorry, I just… I got that whole mental picture. But yeah, I understand what you mean. Is that the only reason? Because I’m small?

“No, no! That’s not the only reason. I just also thought you may need some… I don’t know, cheering up? No offense, but you always seem like you’re… alone. So I thought we could have a… a spot to go to whenever you, like, need to feel better, I guess. And I could use some company every now and then. Yeah, it’s definitely a stupid idea so—”

“No, Peter,” I interrupted him quickly. “This is… perfect. And it worked. This view is amazing, and I don’t feel as scared. It like has a freeing feeling up here. Doesn’t it?”

Peter nodded and looked out at Manhattan. “Yeah, totally.”

“It can be like our… tree-house. Only about fourteen stories higher.”

He agreed. “And next time, we _have_ to bring snacks.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again everyone. Thanks for reading last chapter! I'm glad you're sticking with me, you get two for one today at least. :-) If you're confused about details with the timeline or anything like that which isn't cleared up (I hope it is), you can always ask me to clarify in the comments and I'll be glad to answer. Anyways, things are starting to happen...

I had never really paid much attention to the school’s news broadcast before, because it was usually pretty basic and lame, and humorous on occasion, but today it caught my attention. The blonde girl who always seemed annoyed with the guy was doing the majority of the talking, as per usual. But one story in particular made me snap my head up immediately.

“On _Under the Mask_ this week, Spider-Man was spotted last night swinging around the city with another person on his back. The pictures we have are blurry, but an eye-witness says it looked like this person was a girl.”

The broadcast switched – after a painful pause – to a short clip of a random man on a sidewalk in the city, nodding.

“Yeah, it was definitely a g—”

The video went black and showed the teenaged hosts again, complete with a picture of a red figure and another one that was certainly me holding on to Spider-Man for dear life, but luckily the average person could make very little out of it. I was sure. At least that’s what I told myself.

“As you can see, Spider-Man’s friend was reportedly a girl, and—”

“So if you’re Spider-Man’s girlfriend, come to us and give us all the details!” the kid named Jason interjected, making a face with mysteriously wiggled-eyebrows and a smile. I could hardly keep watching it.

Betty rolled her eyes and tried desperately to keep the segment going. “We don’t know for sure who it was, but if you have any information about this mystery girl, or if you are her, let us know. In the meantime, who do you guys think Spider-Man’s new friend is?”

Both hosts gave a half-hearted smile at the camera and it was an awkward pause again before the broadcast finally switched to the Pledge of Allegiance for the morning, the sign at which all the students in our Algebra 2 class stood and recited the pledge along with the recording.

I wasn’t paying this any attention because my face was burning with embarrassment, even though there was only one other student in the whole class who knew the truth.

I dared to turn back and look at Peter, who met my eyes for a split second before averting his gaze. I did the same, clearing my throat and carrying on with the pledge, remembering to place my hand over my heart. I couldn’t think straight and couldn’t focus on anything for the rest of the class, pretty much, except for trying my best not to make a scene or be weird.

I did, however, corner him as soon as math class ended, and he clearly expected it, as he shut his locker and turned to me.

“Uhh…”

Peter scratched his neck. “…Yeah.”

“I, um, wow, I can’t believe they would… I didn’t think about people… noticing me. It’s stupid, I guess.”

“Next time you’ll just have to wear a hat or a hoodie or something,” Peter told me cheekily, which made me smile at the thought of a _next time_. Then his eyes focused a bit more.

“So, ah, you heard what, um… else they said about it…” he started at a snail's pace. I floundered to respond properly, having known that this would come up but nonetheless still without a decent answer for it.

“Uh, yeah, I did. And I think that’s crazy that they would think that without any information, really. I mean, we… it was just a tour. They just think that because, you know, the mysterious person happened to be a girl. But I don’t…”

“Oh, yeah, right. Of course.”

I instantly started backtracking. “But they’re not… entirely crazy. I just couldn’t believe it when I heard what they thought I was. I don’t think they’ll ever be on to me, though.”

“Yeah, totally. We’re just friends,” Peter agreed in an assuring voice.

I sighed and smoothed a piece of hair back. “And uh, for real though, we can _not_ let Tony ever hear a word of this. He'd kill me if he figured out I made the school news. Especially about this.”

“Got it. It’ll be our secret.”

Just as he finished talking with me, Ned ran up to us. “Guys! I was just in Chemistry, and I saw you on the news! And you too, Sami!”

We quickly shushed him ferociously and Peter shoved a hand over his mouth before he could get anything else out.

“Could you not announce it to the whole hallway?”

Ned relented and backed up a bit sheepishly. “Oh. Sorry.” He switched his tone to a light whisper and looked at me. “Dude, I didn’t know you were going with him now. Do you help him save people?”

I shook my head. “No, it wasn’t that. We just…”

Peter finished for me quietly. “I took her on a tour of Manhattan, Spider-Man style.”

Soon both Ned and Peter were grinning like huge nerds at Comic-Con and I shifted around uncomfortably. “Yeah, well it’s not going to happen again if it’s so obvious that it was me.”

“It wasn’t obvious,” Ned was clearly just trying to make me feel better. “I just know you, and you’re the only the one who knows about Peter, so… and anyway, I don’t think anyone else will recognize you because you don’t have any friends.”

I almost choked, and Peter jumped back on the case of shutting his friend up once more.

“ _Ned!_ Come on, man!”

“Sorry, I just meant that no one really hangs out with you enough to know that you… you know, _know_ Spider-Man,” he went on quietly. “That’s all. It was mostly a compliment!”

I smirked, as it was steadily growing clear to me that Ned really had no clue how to talk to… well, girls. I tried my best to be as cool and approachable as possible because I hated the thought of coming across stuck-up, but I would never really be on the same level as Ned and Peter were. I’d never be like one of their guy-nerd friends. I was a nerd, not dissimilar to them, but I was a girl, too.

At least one of them seemed to have prominence in the conversation department.

“Well, you’re not wrong,” I told Ned, smiling. “I really don’t have any friends, except you and Peter. It’s for a reason, though. So it’s cool.”

The darker haired guy looked proud and nudged Peter. “See?”

I didn’t think Peter could have facepalmed hard enough. It might’ve been fine, but you still didn’t go around telling girls that they didn’t have any friends and he clearly knew that. His apologetic eyes said it all to me, and just like that it was completely okay.

(on my first birthday at the tower)

I would be lying if I said that I had only just woken up and remembered that it was my birthday. As per usual, I had actually been thinking about this day for a long while, and of course woken up much earlier than was typical for me out of anticipation. I knew it was stupid, but I was still a teenager at heart… and it was my sixteenth birthday, after all.

The thing was, I didn’t know what I would be doing today. In fact, I’d had no confirmation whatsoever that Tony even knew what today was.

I stayed in my room until I couldn’t take it anymore. I had already gotten dressed, cleaned my room, and even showered. I figured Tony was down in his lab like always, so I went down to see what he was up to. I wasn’t going to say anything, not yet. I just wanted to see what he was doing and get an idea if there were any hints of a plan for today, or if he remembered what it was at all.

“Hey, Tony, what’s up?”

“Huh. You’re up-and-at ‘em early today. Isn’t it still your Thanksgiving break?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I just couldn’t go back to sleep after I woke up.”

I could tell that his lips were pressed together but he never turned around to look at me completely. He was facing his computer for work things and stared at it intensely.

“Yeah, well, we can talk later, okay? I’m kinda busy right now, you know, with important stuff.”

My heart sank when I heard this. It honestly caught me off guard. But I still nodded and placed one foot back out of the door.

“Right, yeah, I get it. We’ll talk later, then.”

I left the lab quickly without another word or glance and started the trip back to my floor. I massaged my forehead with my hand somberly, feeling majorly disappointed but mostly angry. Not at Tony, really. Mainly at myself.

I had gotten my hopes up, but why? It had been stupid, beyond stupid, to think that Tony would have something special planned. And it was nothing against him, really. He just had other priorities, clearly.

I sighed. I shouldn’t have thought about it like that. It wasn’t a priorities issue, surely. Tony was really busy, and his stuff was much more important than mine. The occasion probably just slipped his mind. He wasn’t intentionally being inconsiderate, and I would be ignorant to blame all my feelings on him. I didn’t exactly make it easy to find things to do for me. I didn’t have friends to throw a party for me, I didn’t like going out much, and I hated being the center of attention. So what was he even supposed to have planned, anyways?

I didn’t even know what I would have done for myself if I were him. And it was because of this that I decided I would go up to my room and spend my birthday the way I wanted to – alone. Relaxing. Maybe with a book or perusing the internet. Definitely not thinking about anything disappointing.

To be honest, I tried really hard not to be mad at Tony, and succeeded for the most part, until I couldn’t push past the knots in my chest any longer and decided that I needed to let myself be angry at someone, and it wasn’t my fault to begin with. I couldn’t ignore this feeling of loneliness on my birthday. I needed to feel it, and then get over it. That was my best option.

But I took out my ear buds when I started to smell an alarming odor. I furrowed my brow and darted for the door. Something was burning. I couldn’t see smoke in my room or in the hall outside, so I began to search my floor.

However, I didn’t have to look far. Tony stood in my little personal kitchen coughing and waving away smoke.

“FRIDAY, can you open up some vents in here?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Just as the smoke started to clear up, Tony looked over at me as I appeared behind the bar with my arms crossed.

“Oh, hey, Sam. Sorry, you were supposed come out for a good smell… but don’t worry, I have it handled.”

I stared at him. “What… what were you trying to make?”

“I figured a birthday isn’t complete without some sort of candle to blow out, but a full homemade cake was out of the question, so I thought I could take care of one miniature cake. You know, the kind out of the box? But apparently you’re supposed to have a timer on the thing and take it out of the oven after so many minutes. And let me guess, you don’t like your cupcakes well done, do you?”

I scoffed as he showed me the pan that I noticed had one cupcake-slot filled, but the wrapper on the outside was still giving off smoke and the cake inside was so blackened that I couldn’t even tell what the flavor was. Leave it to Tony to master thermonuclear astrophysics in one night and then ruin one cupcake from a box the next day.

But I still didn’t understand. “I don’t…”

He waved me off. “Don’t worry, Happy’s bringing another one by from the store. It’ll probably be better than this crap, anyway.”

I was still was at a loss for words and it was Tony’s turn to ask what was going on.

“What’s up? Is something bothering you?”

He said this as if he had an idea what the something was, but I went ahead and explained to him slowly as he waited for me to speak.

“I, uh, just didn’t think you would… I thought you forgot.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in a totally not-surprised way. “Then why didn’t you try to remind me before, when you came down to the lab?”

“Well, I just… saw you were busy and didn’t want to bother you.”

He scowled lightly. “Oh, come on. I get that it’s common knowledge that I’m selfish and inconsiderate most of the time, and I know I’m new at this, but you have to give me a little more credit than that. Besides, I already said I’d break the cycle of shame. And I can say that I usually follow through when I decide to do something.”

My jaw dropped for a second and I had to take a moment to process this. It took a lot to internalize my emotions that threatened to show themselves in the form of, well… crying. I wasn’t forced to reply right away as I stuttered for the right words, because Tony added on to what he said.

“It’s not hard, I think I’ve actually worked it out. I just have to do the opposite of what my dad did. There were too many birthdays where I woke up to my mom being all sympathetic to me because she knew his expectations would not be met once again. ‘Cause dear old Dad was working and wouldn’t be there for the day, another consecutive year. You shouldn’t ever have to feel that if I can help it. And I still can’t believe you fell for that I-forgot-your-birthday trick. It’s so cliché.”

I huffed and tried not to smile. “Well, I’m new at this, too, but I guess I know better, now.”

“Good.”

I sniffed and tried for a smile as the smoke was almost gone, now. “Thanks, Dad – uh, Tony. Thanks Tony.”

He averted his eyes and I could see that the corner of his mouth seemed to twinge a bit. “You got it, kid.”

“I, um, have to go get my phone. I’ll be right back for that cupcake.”

I slid from the kitchen and back into my bedroom, taking a deep breath and wiping my face. I couldn’t believe it. I’d completely embarrassed myself in front of Tony. Had I really just called him _Dad_ …?

Oh no. Oh _no_. I guess I figured this would happen eventually, but I’d only lived here for less than six months. Part of it made me very content with the way things were going already and part of it made me want to curl up and die of embarrassment, after that.

“FRIDAY, listen, could you remove that… what just happened from any video or audio things that Tony could look at later? I know he has cameras all over the tower… Because I kinda want to forget it ever happened and I don’t need him to have that as proof or blackmail against me one day.”

I asked this is a hoarse whisper for fear of Tony hearing me, but what surprised me the most was the answer I received.

“I don’t believe I can do that, Sami. The video and audio footage from twenty-six-seconds ago has already been saved in Mr. Stark’s personal database.”

I stood there in shocked curiosity. “What? Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because he wants to remember it. It is saved to a folder titled “Sami Fridge-Worthy Moments”. It is locked, and I cannot access the files. But I have their titles, if you want them…”

I rolled my eyes and the question was on the tip of my tongue: What else was in that _darn_ folder? But I quickly decided I didn’t want to know. I supposed I’d find out eventually which of all my most embarrassing moments he saved forever.

“No, it’s okay. Thanks.”

I grabbed my phone, which I _did_ leave in my room, and was swift to meet Tony back in the kitchen, who declared it was time to open presents while we waited for Happy and my cupcake.

“Presents?” I asked with growing excitement. “Are you serious?”

His face went absolutely still and void of all emotion. “I never joke about birthday presents.”

He sat me down in the small living room where a pile of wrapped boxes lay that had gone unnoticed by me previously. I felt honored but then I figured that buying me stuff was the easiest part, for him. I just couldn’t wait any longer to find out what he had gotten me.

It turned out that he gave me a new ballcap (go figure), an Xbox, which I was very glad to get because I loved video games and it was yet another thing to do that didn’t involve socializing, and a couple nice shirts picked out by Pepper herself. I was all smiles as I opened it all and Tony was smug about it with his hands shoved down in his pockets.

“Yeah, um, Pep hoped you liked the shirts. She wanted to get you something from her.”

I nodded. “I do like them, a lot. They’re just my style.”

“And she also gave me some feedback about present ideas, so I… have one more.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him suspiciously as he handed me one last wrapped gift that was not a box, but oddly shaped. Tony gestured for me to go ahead and unwrap it in my hesitation, so I obliged him quickly.

Once I got the paper off, I studied the item in my hand. It was about as big as a good-sized picture frame you’d hang on a wall but was relatively light in my grasp. I held it back and noticed that it was my name, Sami, spelled out in cursive and made out of metal.

“So, uh, she suggested that I get you something a little more personal than just buying a bunch of stuff, so I… made that.”

My eyes widened. “You made this? Out of metal from your iron suits?”

“It was what I had,” he admitted. “Do you like it? I thought you might want something for your room because it’s pretty bare in there, you could hang it on the door or on the wall. It lights up and everything.”

I analyzed the simple yet elegant decoration and flipped it over in my hand to see the back. There was a sticker on it which read, “Happy 16th, from Tony”. And for a grand total of two times that morning I had to fight back tears.

“I’m sure it’s not anything like what you’re used to… but I hope it’s an okay birthday. And I wasn't planning on throwing you the rave of the century, anyway. While I <em> _could_ </em> do that, you don’t seem to be that type of kid.”

“No, Tony, this is… perfect. Thank you.”

The truth was, I didn’t know what to expect of this day when I had woken up this morning. I knew it wouldn’t be like my birthdays back home, with family. Not exactly, and yet it still kinda was. It was different, but not in a bad way. It was what I had. Tony was making the most of it and I needed to, too.

A strong sense of content started to seep into me and I allowed it to, because this day was deserving of that feeling. This was just the start of my new life, and it seemed promising. No, it wasn’t my old life, but I imagined for a second how I would be spending my sixteenth birthday from behind bars or in an interrogation room and quickly appreciated what I had here. Tony didn’t understand – he thought he was doing the bare minimum, but just twenty minutes ago I thought he wasn’t going to do _anything_ for me. And then he handed me this personal gift that he made himself, probably spent hours working on, and was likely what he tried to hide from me when I went down to his lab this morning. As if it was nothing. But it was everything to me. This was all I had.

And it was starting to become my family.

\---

I sat with my legs folded on my bed before getting out of it for the day, looking at my phone. All night I’d been stressing over the Algebra exam I had that Friday. I figured I needed some help, so I went to what seemed like the obvious choice.

_Hey, would you mind studying for the Algebra test with me tonight? I feel like I still don’t understand it and I need to be ready for Friday_

_Okay I’ll make you a deal_

I rolled my eyes lightly and waited for Peter to lay down the conditions of this deal to me.

_You check my paper for English tonight and I’ll help you out with math._

_That’s pretty sneaky. But okay, I guess. Would this happen to be the same essay that is due tomorrow?_

_Yeah. I have most of it finished, but I feel like a lot should be fixed._

_I’ll try not to make this a habit, then. I’m not going to start editing all your papers, Peter, because that’s not fair, but I’ll be_ _glad to help this once_

_Got it_

_Your place or mine?_

I sent him a face with narrowed eyes. _You know what Tony would say about that._

_Yeah… so I really don’t like not telling him that we’re friends. Are you planning to break it to him soon or are you waiting for him to find out? Because I don’t think you can hide this from him forever_

_You’re probably right, but I’m not worrying about that right now. He doesn’t have to know everything. I guess I’m just scared of what he’ll say when he finds out. I don’t want to mess anything up in our relationship. It definitely sounds stupid, I know, but…_

_No, I get it. I’ve messed up with him before… it was not fun._

_Oh, yeah, I remember that part. That’s exactly what I want to avoid. Maybe I’ll just wait until I graduate to tell him, and then he won’t be able to tell me who I can be friends with anymore._

_Wait wait wait_

_You know what happened when he got mad at me?? Was I in a movie_

_Sami_

_Sami please answer how do you know that_

I bit my lip and fought back a smile. Finally I typed up my reply and hit send

_Uh so maybe you were in a movie but I didn’t tell you at first because it hadn’t happened yet._

_Are you kidding me?? I have so many questions_

_Right… well we can talk tonight, you know, at the study date I was trying to get an answer on before our conversation went off the rails?_

_Sure. Ok_

I closed my phone and went to turn off the soft yellow light that protruded from the edges of my name that was made out of metal, which hung on my wall and served as a nice night light. I supposed that I didn’t need to turn it off, but my upbringing with saving because of the electric bill still stuck with me, I guessed.

But as I flipped the off switch on the side of the light, it went off and yet the room still wasn’t completely dark. My hand was slightly illuminated by golden light in the dark room and I instantly tried to cover it. No, it wasn’t from any other light source in the room. It came out of my hand. My body.

Yeah, I didn’t know what to think, either.

What I needed was a way to show someone, preferably Peter. He got what it was like to be different, to have special powers and keep them hidden from the world.

And the person who _wouldn’t_ get that is Tony. Actually… he’d get it better than either of us. But that was precisely the problem. After what had happened with the team, and especially how he treated Wanda once she made a mistake with her powers, I was terrified of him ever finding out. I didn’t want to be sheltered any more than I already was. I just wanted to live my life and be normal.

Was that too much to ask for? Apparently it was.

I had to find out more about what it was, and sharing my power with Peter, to learn about it somewhere away from this tower and Tony’s scrutinization, sounded very appealing to me. I just had to figure out how.

(about a year after moving to the tower)

It was one of those days where I was craving human contact, but I didn’t want to go anywhere. And it didn’t help that I lived with Tony – he was perhaps even worse at interacting normally than I was. On a quiet night like this, when all my homework was already done, it called for a little recreation in the form of loud music and, of course, annoying a certain genius.

Since Pepper was out of town for the weekend, I saw no reason for us to both be alone that evening, when there was so much of a possibility for fun to be had.

“Sami, if you don’t turn my music back on right now, I swear I’m gonna lose it. I’ll lock you in your room and you won’t be able to go to school in the morning.”

His tone was more teasing than threatening, but, _man_. He really did know how to get me.

I kept smiling at Tony, waving around the remote to his music. “Come on, you haven’t left this lab in like three days! You gotta take a break some time. I’m just helping you out.”

“Listening to this garbage is not exactly my idea of a _break_.”

I rolled my eyes as the Adele song continued to play. “It’s a good song! _Hello_ is my favorite.”

“Well, why don’t you pick something we both can listen to without gagging?”

I huffed and pressed another couple of buttons. “How about this one?”

He was quick to listen and even more so to shoot it down. “Anything by Imagine Dragons is my _least_ favorite song.”

Okay, that one stung a bit. “Geez, Tony! That’s hurtful! You don’t like anything good…”

“Give me the remote and I won’t be able to insult any more of your favorite bands.”

“Wait, wait, wait, let me try one more time. This one is more of a compromise, I guess. Something I like that you can’t hate.”

The very second the song began, Tony’s whole demeanor changed. I broke out into a grin and couldn’t keep from dancing. At least bobbing my head. The song was _Juke Box Hero_ by Foreigner, and I knew he couldn’t resist.

“Well, at least you have a _little_ taste,” he remarked as it built up to the first part that added drums. “’Kay, so can I have the remote back now? I admit it, this song is good. Now hand it over.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “No, not yet. You have to dance, first.”

Tony sighed very loudly. “Not fair, Sam. This is manipulation and blackmail, not to mention an invasion of my privacy.”

I ignored, even though I didn’t really know why. “This is the only thing I want you to do, Tony. For me. Come on, this is a jam, you _have to_ dance to it. I just want… the moment.”

“Only if you swear you won’t use this footage against me, ever.”

I rolled my eyes again. “Cross my heart. If I do, you can ground me for a year. And it’s not like anyone’s in here judging you. I’m a horrible dancer, but I do it ‘cause it’s fun. The last thing I’m trying to be right now is _cool_.”

I saw that Tony pressed his lips together tightly and looked down, but I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it because I was still dancing all around his lab. I moved my entire body to the beat, grinning happily. It was like a mix of hopping and bopping and… well, a lot of embarrassing dance moves.

Every now and then I glanced over at him and noticed that he was starting to follow my lead, dancing slowly by tapping his foot and bobbing his head with feeling. When a quiet part came on, I motioned over to him.

“That’s a good start, but you gotta come over here and dance with me!”

Tony rolled his eyes but soon he was over by me, pointing in my direction. “Alright, when it hits, I got air guitar. You get the drums.”

I smiled brightly and nodded, completely satisfied. “Got it.”

When the chorus kicked in on this last part, Tony lifted his hands to his torso and started mimicking a guitar that he played in his grasp, nodding while making a concentrated, gritty face. I pretended to hit the drums in front of me, still dancing. Then he turned sideways and pressed his back up against mine, still hitting the air guitar. I hopped slightly on my bare toes, biting my lip, and for a second he met my eyes and winked.

Dude, we rocked out that night. After the first song went off, I quickly put on _Iron Man_ by Black Sabbath. It seemed fitting for some reason. Tony loved it. It was slower and less of a jam to dance to, but we both enjoyed listening to it and soon we were _both_ on air guitars. He even mouthed all the words, like the song was meant for him.

I was so happy in that moment, it was indescribable. I think Tony finally understood it. I was still a kid, and I was trying to live life the best way I could, making memories along the way during what time I had with my family, which was him. That’s why I wanted him to dance with me. Not for payback, or to bother him, or anything embarrassing like that… I just wanted the memory, to look back on this when I had a bad day, or something.

Which is why I thought he said what he said afterwards.

Tony looked over at him, inhaling and taking his words a little slow in the moment that was calming from our high energy activity that had just ended. “So… you got anything going on tonight?”

I shrugged. “I think I did everything already. I finished my homework, did the laundry, made a little dinner, and even cleaned my room. I only came up here because I got bored. I was planning to head to bed after this… it’s kinda late, anyway.”

He shook his head immediately. “Nope. Change of plans. We’re going to have a movie night tonight.”

“But it’s—” I protested, seeing that it was already after eleven o’clock.

“On a Friday night,” Tony corrected me. “Give it a rest, Sam. When was the last time you stayed up past your ten-thirty bedtime?”

I shifted my feet around. “Uh, I don’t know…”

“Exactly. I’m going to stay up, too. If I didn’t it wouldn’t be a real movie night.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “But you haven’t slept in at least two days!”

“Which is what makes it worth it. We can both sleep for as long as we want tomorrow.”

The movie we found felt like fate. I grabbed the case and shoved it over to Tony without hesitation. “Yeah, this is the one we’re watching.”

He stared at it. “I don’t know where that came from. I think Pepper may have brought over some movies she likes from her place. I didn’t think I even owned any DVD’s here…”

I smirked and then frowned. “Wait, Pepper brought this over? You know, that actually makes sense… of _course_ she would like this movie.”

“What, why?” Tony asked, waving the movie around nonchalantly. I pointed to it.

“Do you see anything interesting about the cover? The main character, maybe?”

He held _Sherlock Holmes_ , the 2009 version with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role in his hand. He made a face.

“Nope.”

I crossed my arms. “Are you kidding me? He looks exactly like you!”

Tony narrowed his eyes at me. “He does not. We must not be looking at the same person, Sam. This guy is nowhere near as good-looking. And he already seems really stuck-up.”

I couldn’t hide my annoyance. “That’s funny, because he’s actually not that different from you.”

“You say that like you know something. What is the thing about him? Is he, like, me from an alternate universe?”

“Well, it’s the same actor that plays you in the _Marvel_ movies.”

His gaze became faraway and confused. “Wow. Okay, that’s trippy. Hey, I wonder if there’s an actress that plays you in another universe. She’d probably be a diva…”

I sighed. “I’m going to try so hard not to think about that.”

The two of us sat down after he plugged in the DVD and began watching it in the dark. I only got up once to make us some popcorn. To my surprise, Tony seemed pretty into it, and neither of us really spoke until it ended.

“So, what did you think? Did you change your mind about him looking like you?”

“Mm, maybe if he had decent facial hair, a haircut, and an accent change he could be my… distant cousin.”

I rolled my eyes, hard. “Whatever. But personality-wise, you have to agree…?”

“He’s me,” Tony consented. “That Robert Downey Jr. guy must have a knack for playing smart-alecks.” I nodded happily, and surprisingly, he went on.

“You up for the next one? I think there’s a sequel.”

I already felt like I was half-asleep by this time, but I supposed I must have said yes, because I remembered the beginning of the movie and a bit near the end, and no more than that. It had to have been at least three in the morning by the time it went off. Once the credits finally rolled, Tony tore his eyes away, remarking,

“That was actually pretty good. He’s still not as attractive as I am, though—”

He cut himself off when he caught sight of me, humming to himself thoughtfully. It was then that he realized that his shoulder and lower back were killing him. Exhaustion washed over him as he considered what to do. He’d known that I had crawled over and rested my head on him, as I was getting sleepy and the couch that we shared left little choice, as it was just a loveseat. But he hadn’t previously paid attention to that fact that I’d gone limp, completely unconscious on his arm.

“I’m too old for this,” Tony commented under his breath as he scooped my unmoving body up off the sofa and started for my bedroom with me in his arms. He didn’t even know how he was still awake, himself. “My back is going to kill me tomorrow…”

He laid me down on my bed softly, making sure I was in a good sleeping position. I never stirred while he pulled my covers up over me and flipped the light-switch off. But before leaving, he stood beside my bed, unbeknownst to me, smiling slightly. Then he shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“ _Gosh_ , is this what it’s like? Having a kid? ‘Cause if it is… I’m really in for it.”

I woke up the next morning (or afternoon if you want to be technical) feeling refreshed and lazy. I thought back to last night, and what was weird was that I didn’t remember going to bed. I knew that I’d probably fallen on Tony’s shoulder and missed most of the second movie, but maybe I was just so tired and half-asleep that I had no memory of actually going to sleep in my room. I was just glad that I hadn’t slept the whole night on the couch.

After getting out of bed, I found a note on my bedside table, with writing that seemed to be from a black Sharpie. It was definitely from Tony.

_Thanks for last night, Small Fry. I needed to be reminded to have a little fun sometimes. I’ve decided that we’re making this a thing – when I get too caught up in my work stuff, you have my permission to do that again. Only if it’s a serious case of me forgetting to relax. I think we both need that._

_By the way, my back can’t take another late night like that again. It’s a good thing you’re pretty light. I get why your bedtime’s at ten-thirty, now. You should stick to that from now on._

I pursed my lips together, trying not to smile. Now I knew how I’d gotten into bed. He must have had to carry me off the couch and to my room because I’d fallen asleep so heavily.

I couldn’t fight off the smile for very long, because it hit me that Tony was starting to experience it. What parenthood was like. It was making memories, dancing together, carrying your sleeping kid to bed…

And he wasn’t doing half bad at this, really, for being so new to it.

\---

I picked at my food. School lunches were okay on some days, but I just wasn’t feeling it today. I ate a few of the soggy tater tots but saved the rest and downed maybe two bites of the sloppy joe that sat on my plate, staring at me menacingly. But I could do no more than that.

“Hey, are you going to eat that?”

Peter swung his legs over the bench beside me and set his tray down in front of him, looking at my leftover food. I shook my head and happily handed him my sloppy joe and the remaining tater tots. It worked out on the days that I wasn’t hungry – the amount of energy he constantly expended made him forever hungry.

“Knock yourself out.”

I kept the few carrot sticks to munch on, however, and finished off my small carton of milk. It was only minutes before Peter’s meal and what was left of mine had disappeared. I thought Ned had taken his seat on the other side of him without a word, but I wasn’t exactly paying close attention to much at the moment. I was deep in my own thoughts, trying to find a way to show Peter my power. I needed to do it soon, before I lost my mind.

As if on cue, I suddenly heard sounds of struggling from around the corner of the cafeteria. I assumed that a fight had occurred in the hallway, as often happened at least once a week at this school.

But wait… if I wanted a way to show Peter what I could do… this wasn’t a bad opportunity…

“Peter,” I said quickly, tapping him urgently. “Come here for a second.”

He swallowed. “Uh, okay?” He probably saw the cogs clicking fast in my eyes and decided to follow me quickly. I led him around the corner, and of course, we could see the fight going on right there, just as I thought.

“Alright, so this may get a little weird, but I need you to just watch this, okay?”

Peter stared at me, confused. “Okay…”

“Keep your eyes on what’s going on right here.”

A smaller kid and a slightly larger kid were tumbling around on the ground in front of us, duking it out violently while a small group of other students stood in a circle to cheer. Anger started bubbling inside of me for how stupid they were being, and Peter noticed something after glancing over at me warily.

“Uhh, Sami, your hand…?”

I knew it was glowing – I didn’t have to check. It did this every time I used my power. “I know, hold on.”

I thought of all the possible things that could happen right here and determined what I wanted to happen. With some concentration, I felt a familiar sensation in my chest, and…

“A senior’s going to jump in and break it all up.” I was certain of my words. I could see it happening.

Peter kept watching me, very perplexed by now. “…What?”

Just after he asked this, a taller and responsible looking kid entered the circle and pulled the two kids apart, yelling at them to stop and get a grip. They still tried to keep attacking each other, but they were both held back by other students to be kept apart from fighting.

Peter’s jaw dropped. “How did you…?”

I ignored this question for the time. “Now Mr. Peterson’s going to come out and take the bigger one to the principal’s office.”

Just as I predicted, a flustered teacher burst out of the door behind us and pushed his way into the circle of kids, demanding to know what was going on. Once the culprit was made known by several of the witnesses, he roughly escorted the student off to be disciplined.

“And then a girl’s going to take the one with the black eye to the nurse.”

A blonde girl approached the kid who’d been beat up and offered to walk him down to the nurse’s office. He agreed to this and the gathering of students swiftly dissipated, as the show was finally over.

Peter still stood there, mouth gaping. “But how… you knew all that was going to happen?” he asked, in a quiet yet sharply interrogative tone. “How? What’s going on with you? Your hand… and you _predicted_ … can you see the future?”

I actually laughed and shook my head. “It’s… a long story. But no, I can’t see the future. I just… well, if I am emotionally affected by something, and if I believe hard enough, then I can… like, affect the probability of things. Change it.”

“So, basically, you can make whatever you want happen.”

I smirked. “Well, it’s a little more complicated than that…”

Peter’s face lit up out of the blue. “Hey, you’re coming over tonight to study, right?”

“Yeah, if you still want me to.”

“Oh, you _have to_ , now. I gotta know more about this power.” I sighed and for a moment I wondered why I wanted to show him this, knowing that the flood of questions wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon.

Right. I remembered. Because Peter would understand more than anyone else. And maybe, just maybe… he’d want to help me out with it.


	4. Chapter 4

Peter’s eyes were wide with curiosity and shock. “This… is crazy. How long have you had this? Or at least… known about it?”

I bit my lip. “I don’t know, maybe since I moved here? I didn’t think it was this strong, though, and my hands only started glowing recently.”

“But how did you get it? Do you know?”

“That’s the thing. I have no idea. I just know I didn’t have it before I moved here.”

“When did you first notice this, though?”

I rubbed my arms slowly. “Well… the only way I had an idea that I could do anything is because… uh, Loki told me.”

He sat back heavily on his bunk, shaking his head. I had one word to describe his reaction: _Shooketh_.

“Hold on, you didn’t tell me that he… he came, too? He was responsible for the Battle of New York, right?”

I secretly loved how defensive he was getting over this. “Yeah, uh, he um… didn’t come to my world. He talked to me, uh, in a dream. It was weird. And terrifying.”

Peter furrowed his brow and nodded, making a sort of laugh of disbelief. “No, no, I’m sure it was. Gosh. So, he… knew about it?”

“I don’t know,” I said sadly. “There’s so much I don’t know. He just told me that the Avengers found me for a reason, that I was not destined for my universe, and that I was more powerful than I thought. I finally got him to be more specific, and he said I could do things with my belief, how I feel, and what I want to happen. I think it’s because I used to be really into writing. And… I wrote a lot of little stories about the Avengers.”

“So he thought that whatever you wrote, if you believed it and if it was actually possible, it could just… happen?”

I made a thoughtful face. “Yeah, and he apparently also thought I could “ _write entire worlds into existence_ ”, but I haven’t tried to do that, yet, and I do _not_ want to. This one’s fine.”

His eyes were still very wide while he processed this. “Sami, this is so... I never thought that… so nothing happened to you, right? Like, some people are exposed to radioactivity, or something like that. I had a bite. But you just… you’re you.”

“Well, I did come through a portal to another dimension. That should count for something.”

Peter narrowed his eyes. “You have a point.” Something seemed to strike him. “Oh, no, no, no. I see why you showed this to me just today. Mr. Stark doesn’t know about it, does he?”

I sighed. I had known he would figure it out soon enough. “No, and I’d like to keep it that way. Not because I want another secret to keep from him, but because… I don’t want him to treat me any differently. If he finds out I have _this_ …”

I inhaled and made my hand light up with golden power that jumped out of my fingertips and danced around a bit before taking its position once again inside of me.

“Then he’ll never see me the same way again.”

Peter tried to disagree. “I’m sure that’s not true…”

“It is,” I told him, trying not to get emotional about it. “Have you heard of Wanda Maximoff, or… Scarlet Witch?”

“Yeah…”

“She had powers that she couldn’t control very well yet, and things went wrong one day. She couldn’t get control of this explosion, and… people died. Everyone thought the mistake was all her fault, and the government targeted her for it. Right after that happened, Tony locked her in the tower and wouldn’t let her leave. Vision was left to watch her. She was seen as a threat, and Tony was no help. He treated her like she was… dangerous.”

He shook his head. “But you can’t really think he’ll do the same to you, can you? I mean, he _adopted_ you. And it’s not like _he’s_ normal, either. He knows how it is to be different, just like I do. He’ll want to help you, not lock you away.”

“Maybe, but it’ll still be worse. I just want to live my life while I’m a kid and be normal for a change. If Tony finds out that I have this power, my life will be even more sheltered than it is now. He won’t let me do _anything_. That’s the last thing I want to happen, and it’s not hurting for him not to know.”

I thought he saw how hard I was trying to justify keeping this from Tony and attempted to find a compromise to this dilemma.

“Huh. You have a point, I guess. But he’s going to find out eventually, so your best bet is making sure he’s not as angry as he could be when he does.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Okay, how?”

“Well, you need to figure out how to control it really well by the time he discovers it, so he wouldn’t have any reason to keep you sheltered. You could even help him, if he let you.”

I held up my hands reservedly. “Oh no, I couldn’t do that much. But you’re probably right.

“Then how about you, uh, get some in tonight? You know, a little practice?”

I met his eyes. “Um, well… I don’t want to mess anything up in here, but… I _would_ like to see what exactly I can do. I guess you would, too. So, sure. What do you have in mind?”

Peter smiled and it sent a mix of emotions through me. The ones I could readily identify were nervousness, anxiety, gladness, and curiosity. At least.

All in all, I found out a lot that night, none of which being anything to do with how to pass my Algebra test. I discovered that my eyes also glowed a flash of gold whenever I used my power, which was good to know because it could easily have given me away. I needed to remember that.

It was when we were right in the middle of me using my ability to affect the probability of coins flipping on heads – and other various experiments he thought of – that it happened. Needless to say there was golden magic floating all around Peter’s bedroom.

“Hey!” I heard May call out. Her nephew froze in place.

“Yeah?”

She began to turn the door handle and Peter lashed out quickly. I saw that he was trying to grab his algebra textbook with his webs. Within a split second he cracked the book open and started to “read” it to me.

“—and that’s why you always start by combining like terms, so that it’s that much easier to get the variables on one side and the constants on the other.”

I tried my best to muster a thoughtful look, meeting Peter’s eyes and nodding. He looked up quickly at his aunt and seemed surprised.

“Oh, hey Aunt May!” he said. “We’re just, uh, studying. What’s up?”

May raised an eyebrow at us with slight suspicion, but we were lucky that she didn’t voice it. “I, um, just came up to see if you two were getting hungry. I have snacks, if you want them…”

“Okay sounds good,” Peter replied. I smiled at her.

“Thank you! We’ll be down in a minute.”

She almost said something else but just settled for a nod and closed the door once again. Once it clicked shut, Peter and I simultaneously let out a sigh of relief that we’d both been holding without realizing it.

“We’re not going to get any actual studying done tonight, are we?”

He smirked. “Nope.”

\---

I still didn’t know what to think of New York City. It had its downs just the same as it had its ups. I constantly found myself missing fresh air and wide-open spaces, but there wasn’t much to be done about that without spending every day at Central Park. I certainly tried, though.

My trip to school each morning was what was becoming the most tiring – I seemed to ride my bike past the same people on their way to work every single day, give or take a few tourists.

The issue was that I hated riding a bike to school, and yet it was just too far to walk. The school I went to was at the other side of town from where the tower stood. The thought of getting there on time every day constantly stressed me out, and although I’d never been late so far, the idea really… motivated me to get up early. It wasn’t my favorite.

Based on how often I complained about it, I really should have seen this coming.

Tony and I were both busy doing our own thing, as usual. I had a little homework to finish up, laundry to fold, and afterwards I considered turning on a movie or something, just because I was bored. I considered seeing what Tony was up to, for the heck of it, but I figured he would be busy, because it was one of his only nights alone with his wife. I decided against it, because I wasn’t _that_ much of a jerk.

But then I heard a voice over the intercom that slightly jolted me out of my thoughts.

“Hey, Sam, you busy?”

“Uh.” I swallowed. “Not really. Why?”

“Question. You have your full license now, right?”

I sighed and popped a potato chip into my mouth out of the small bag I was holding. “Yeah. I don’t see why I got it, though. I still have to ride my bike to school, so… it’s not like it’s doing me any good.”

“Yeah, about that. Do you remember what I told you that day in the garage after I took you for your first driving test?”

I hesitated. “Um… you said a lot of stuff that day. Am I supposed to remember what in particular you’re talking about?”

I could easily visualize his annoyed scowl about my sarcasm. “Just come down to the garage,” Tony told me. I hummed pensively.

“Okay, just a second.”

I shoved the rest of the chips into my mouth curiously and grabbed my jacket since I knew it was going to be freezing down in the garage, as it was already mid-December.

“Uh, Merry early-Christmas, Small Fry,” I heard him say, though I couldn’t process much at the moment. Tony was leaning up against one of his many cars, but this one seemed to stand out somehow. I furrowed my eyebrows.

“I… I don’t—”

He rolled his eyes behind the glasses that he definitely didn’t need. “It’s for you, kid.”

My eyes were wide. “… _What_? Are you serious?”

“Oh, don’t tell me it’s that hard to believe.”

Before me sat a silver-colored car that was fairly low to the ground, as all the fancy sports cars Tony owned were. Except this one was singularly striking because of its nicely finished white trim lines racing along the sides and a license plate that read _Sml Fry_. It had a stream-lined style, which I really liked, and seemed brand new.

I placed my hands over my mouth in disbelief and elation as he gestured for me to get into it.

Tony sat in the passenger seat, allowing me to have the driver’s side to myself. I looked around in awe at it all and the car wasn’t even running yet. Everything was so shiny and new. I’d never seen anything like it before.

With the push of a button, the car roared to life. Blue light shone, illuminating the dark interior of the vehicle. Then a voice spoke.

“Hi Sami,” it said. I noticed that it was a male voice, but rather young. It reminded me of Karen, in a way. I supposed Tony had programmed it to be much like the AI in Peter’s suit. Maybe this guy could help me through my teenager problems, too.

“Welcome to your new car. Mr. Stark has included many helpful features, such as me, to help you whenever you need it.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Fancy.”

Tony inhaled. “I installed an AI, kinda like JARVIS or FRIDAY but more on your level. So he can tell you things like how to drive and which way to go. You should be pretty safe with this thing. There’s a tracker, a back-up camera, and a few other features you’ll probably get a kick out of.”

My first thought was that this was my own bat mobile. A bit of fear and hesitation still coursed through me, however.

“But… I mean, I _can’t_ drive this car. It’s so _nice_ , Tony. I’d never be able to drive it very long without messing something serious up. I don’t think I’ve ever even _sat_ in a car this nice before.”

He scoffed. “It’s not like it’s going to cost me my entire life-savings to fix it. You gotta get out of the headspace of the way it used to be for you. You’ve got enough to worry about, kid. Money shouldn’t be another problem for you. So I don’t want you to even think about that. Got it?”

I breathed out and nodded, but before I could reply, I was cut off.

“To be fair, I think the chances of you wrecking in this car are very small, Sami. Mr. Stark has installed almost every safety feature,” the automated voice said very self-righteously. Tony smirked.

“I designed him to be an opinionated smart-aleck,” he told me. I stared at him with perplexed annoyance, and asked him about it, although I was pretty sure of the answer already.

“Now why would you do that?” He didn’t hesitate to explain.

“So you could actually relate to him.”

I rolled my eyes so hard it felt like they could have popped out of my head. I saw right past his façade, though. I still appreciated this gift from Tony, regardless of how he teased me. He had given me a car that probably cost more money than I could ever have dreamed of, and even personalized it for me with the AI and the tag on the back.

It meant so much to me that I didn’t think I could say the right words to express it to him.

“Thank you, Tony. I’m… _so_ happy right now. This is really special. It’s going to be so much easier to get to school, with this. And a heck of a lot more fun.”

He showed a hint of a smile, crossing his arms. “You could say I was just tired of hearing you complain about having to bike to school every day.” I scowled and looked down, as I had expected to hear something a least a little sentimental back and being disappointed. However, he continued.

“But you’re welcome, Small Fry. I thought you deserved it. You need a break wherever you can get one. And it didn’t really cost me anything, except hours and hours of painstaking labor. So think about that if you do ever wreck it.”

I found myself smiling. “Understood.”

Shortly after receiving my “early Christmas present” from Tony, he proceeded to take the driver’s seat, claiming that he wanted to drive where we were going. I didn’t dare protest – in fact, it never even crossed my mind. He wouldn’t tell me our destination for the entire drive. The engine roared every time he pressed the gas pedal. The way he drove was fine, but _fast_. I wasn’t used to it, but I trusted him, so… it felt good. Almost fun, even. Like the type of fun as experienced by a ride at an amusement park. Yeah… actually, it was basically that.

Tony was quick to turn on his own music, and _Sweet Child O’ Mine_ by Guns N’ Roses was the first to play. I eyed him with irritation and gave it until halfway through the song to complain. He soon turning defensive.

“What? It’s a classic.”

“I just can’t anymore. It’s such a _long_ song.”

I turned my attention to the artificial intelligence that ran the music. “I want to listen to _Whatever It Takes_ by Imagine Dragons.”

The song immediately switched over and Tony was indignant.

“You can’t do that!” he told the machine. “I made you!”

“But it’s _my_ car, now,” I argued.

“Sami’s right, sir. You _did_ program me to respond to her voice before any other in, and I quote, “all matters but life-threatening ones. Then, you listen to _me_ ”.”

The quote even played out as a recording of Tony’s own voice. I began laughing and he grumbled.

“Now I’m starting to regret making you such a smart-aleck… why did I think it was a good idea to have two?”

Then something struck me and I stopped laughing momentarily. “Does he have a name?”

“I didn’t name him, no,” Tony answered. “I figured you might want to do that, or just call him _car_ , for all I care.”

But he _did_ care. That much was completely evident. So I smiled at him, which seemed to make him confused at my reaction.

“What?”

I looked away. “Nothing.”

We finally arrived at our destination, but I failed to see how it would work. The car sat in front of a curb, on which stood a lone ice cream cart on a dead street. I couldn’t believe that it was actually open, on this freezing December night. I’d probably die of hypothermia if I had to eat a frozen dessert out there, in the clear thirty-degree night.

“What are we doing here? It’s too cold for ice cream. And I thought we weren’t supposed to be seen in public together.”

“Relax, Sam. And roll down your window.”

I did as I was told, and within seconds Pepper was standing there, holding two ice cream cones.

“Order up,” she said with a smile, handing the treats to me. I passed one to Tony who seemed grateful to have it and saw that she got her own from the cart after a moment. She went on to climb into the backseat and the three of us enjoyed our ice cream.

“Oh, _hey_ , Pep,” Tony said in a pleasant, high tone, turning his body to face her better in the back. She smirked.

“Funny how these things work out, huh?”

“It was actually her idea to come here, which was pretty ingenious, by the way,” he explained. “If you want to avoid being seen out in the middle of December, stop by an ice cream cart. No one’ll be there. And you can eat it inside the car with your state-of-the-art heater. We’re clearly the only ones cool enough to do it.”

I pursed my lips in amusement as Pepper remarked, “Yeah, I think I made that cashier’s _year_ by ordering something, for once. I don’t think he’s had any business since August.”

We shared a content smile and soon I was crunching the last few bites of my melting cone. Tony met my eyes and spoke slowly.

“So, uh, this was good. I’m glad we came out here. Because you’re gonna have to get familiar with this area.”

I sighed. I knew this was coming at some point. This had to have been for a reason. Yeah, the car was nice, but it was becoming more obvious by the second that he didn’t just drive across New York for this _gourmet_ ice cream cart. There were about fifty different ones within three blocks of the tower.

But his explanation still took me by surprise.

“What? Why?”

“Uh, because we’re moving, kid. I have a facility upstate, that’s where we’ll be at full time, now. It’s somewhere a little more… low-key? ‘Cause I realized that if I wanted to keep the public from noticing you, my best bet isn’t really sticking you in one of the tallest towers in the state. It kinda draws too much attention. So this should be a good move for all of us.”

“But… am I gonna have to change schools?”

“Not if you don’t want to. I know you like Midtown, so I can arrange for you to stay. It shouldn’t be hard to get there, now. It’s still about the same distance.”

He was clearly alluding to this new car we sat in, and I nodded gratefully. Hearing this, it eased almost all of my concerns. I’d moved before. We weren’t going too far. It would most likely work out better than trying to manage that huge tower, anyways.

And I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to Peter, because at school was the only place I saw him.

“Okay,” I replied, looking up at Tony. “That actually sounds nice. Your tower is a lot to get used to, and I don’t think I have, yet. Low-key would be better I think.”

“You do have to go up, like, fifty-seven floors just to find a bathroom in your tower,” Pepper supplied very supportively. I gestured to her in agreement.

“Right? It’s crazy!”

Tony looked down, rubbing his goatee. “So what I’m getting is that I should’ve made this decision a long time ago?”

I decided to be quiet for a moment, and Pepper thought about it.

“Actually? Yeah.”

Sometimes I really loved hanging out with Pepper. I didn’t often get the chance, but when I did… I could tell that she was a perfect fit for Tony because he was the only one he ever really let argue with him and win. Except me of course. I always won our arguments, but that was just me.

Kidding. I only won sometimes. But whenever I got my way over his, it was because Tony… well, he hopefully saw me like his daughter. And I hoped that meant I was pretty influential to him.

\---

That night, after we got back to the tower, I laid down on my bed and pulled out my phone, seeing that I had a message. It had come from a restricted number. The eerie text immediately set me on-edge.

_You’ve been drawing quite a bit of attention, Sami. Don’t think you haven’t. To those of us who notice things that are… out of the ordinary, I’ll say, you’re an open book._

I swallowed my stomach which had crawled its way up into my throat. It was okay. It was just a text. I had to reply, but how would I answer something like that?

_I’m sorry, please take my number off your list. I don’t want whatever it is that you’re selling._

I attempted to try saying this in the off chance that it was some sort of twisted salesman trying to sell me some sort of security system, or something like that. I was horribly wrong.

_Oh, I’m not selling anything. I’m actually trying to get something. And I think you have just the information I need._

_No, I don’t. Stop messaging me. I don’t have anything for you. I don’t know how you got my number, but I’ll call the authorities if you keep this up._

_You won’t. Because your personal authorities are usually busy with problems on a more galactic scale, right? You don’t know who I am, anyway._

_But you will soon._

I hastily blocked the number from my phone and set it down, trying not to lose it. I told myself that it was fine, that this person couldn’t possibly have much information on me. They seemed to know of my connection to the team… but that can’t mean a lot, can it? I mean, people were bound to find out about me eventually. This person sounded really dangerous and like they were planning something… something to do with me.

Well, I wasn’t going to let that happen. I was living in the safest place in New York, after all. I had the Avengers on my side. And Spider-Man was my study partner.

I wanted to kick myself for not telling Tony about this, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. He had enough on his plate lately. I didn’t want to add to his worries. Besides, I had… other methods of dealing with these things.

\---

The next morning I rolled up in my new _schnazzy_ car and parked it right outside what I knew to be Peter’s apartment building.

_Need a ride to school?_

_…What?_

_Look outside_

_NO WAY! Is that yours? It looks like something Mr. Stark would buy! Be right down_

It was only a few second later that Peter came out to my car with his backpack slung over his shoulder, and since I knew that he lived several floors up, he seemed to have made it there faster than humanly possible. Probably because it wasn’t.

I smiled at him and gestured for him to get in the passenger seat. I immediately began to drive in the direction of the school, but in no rush, because I wanted to talk to him for a little bit.

He looked around at the tech in the vehicle with an expression that I was sure matched mine exactly the previous night. After the first initial questions about my brand-spanking-new car, I smirked as neither of us said anything for a few moments. However, we weren’t the ones to break the ice, anyway.

“Hey, Mr. Parker,” the robotic voice said. “Welcome to Sami’s new car. I’ve been programmed to know all about you from Mr. Stark, and unfortunately you are not supposed to be here. Should I send a message to him to let him know that you two seem to be friends, now?”

My internal alarms all went off immediately, and both Peter and I said “ _nonononono_ ” at the same time.

“Uh, no, you don’t have to do that. Tony doesn’t… well, we don’t really want him to know.”

I could basically see the AI narrowing his eyes at me skeptically. “Oh… so this is a secret from Mr. Stark. You’re going against what he wants.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say _that_ …”

“I would,” Peter agreed. “Listen, please just don’t mention anything to Mr. Stark. He’ll find out eventually. But it has to be at the right time.”

The artificial intelligence hesitated to respond. “…Alright. It is my design to heed Sami’s wishes. But I was also created to inform Mr. Stark if ever you get into trouble.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure. You do that. We won’t be getting into trouble any time soon.”

“Do you have a name?” Peter asked suddenly. I shook my head as the AI in question began to answer.

“I have not been assigned one. It is not necessary for me to have a name, but Sami can choose one if she likes.”

I looked at Peter. “I just couldn’t think of any that fit. Do you have any suggestions?”

He pondered this. “Um… Actually the first name that I thought of is Tom. I guess it kinda fits. But it’s not mine to name, really, so…”

I snorted, which turned into a full laugh very shortly. “Tom? Really? I can’t believe that… _you_ would think of that name… that’s so weird...”

Peter’s curiosity was obviously peaked by this reaction. “What? Why is that weird? Tom is a pretty normal name… unless, it has something to do with me from, you know, _your_ universe.”

I nodded, impressed by how he perceived that. “Yeah, uh, well, I don’t think telling you this could mess very much up…”

“What?” he asked again with impatient excitement, shifting in his seat.

“It’s just funny that you picked the name Tom, because the actor who played you in the movies was named… _Tom_.” I still kept smiling in amusement about it. “It’s probably just a random coincidence, but to me it's great.”

He seemed to be in the middle of a serious existential crisis. “Oh, wow… Huh. You know, now that you bring it up, I guess I do pick Tom as a random, ordinary name most of the time without realizing it. That’s the _weirdest_ thing, Sami.”

“Yeah. And he was British, too.”

His eyes widened as he stared out the window. “Why do I start to question my existence every time I talk to you?”

Peter’s question was completely straightforward and lacked all playfulness, which made it all the funnier. I smiled at looked back at the road. I liked Tom. It would the name I’d stick with, for sure. It had a backstory now, and everything.

“Listen, speaking of more… serious stuff, I need to talk to you about something. It happened last night, and it’s kinda bothering me.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, seeing how slowly I was to admit this and probably how nervous I was about it. The joking mood from before disappeared and all that was left was concern.

“What?”

I inhaled deeply. “Well, um, I got a text last night from a number that wouldn’t show up on my phone. At first I thought it was a salesman, or a spam message, but it wasn’t. It was some person who… I think they were trying to scare me. They said they know a lot about me, and implied that they know about me and… and the team.”

“What did you do? Did you answer?” Peter interrogated me swiftly, and I had to bite my lip, unable to meet his eyes for a second.

“I, uh, yeah. I told them that I didn’t have anything for them, and that I would call the authorities if they kept messaging me. But there was a problem with that, since I didn’t even have a phone number to go off of, or anything. They said they knew I wouldn’t actually do it, since “my personal authorities are usually busy with problems on a more galactic scale” and didn’t have time for me.”

His eyes started to widen in realization. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you actually believed that… Is that why you’re telling me? Because you’re afraid to tell Mr. Stark?”

I almost smiled sadly, but I couldn’t. “Listen, you have to understand. I need him to think I can handle myself, you know? I’m about to graduate and have to be out on my own. If I go to him every time there’s a little problem… I need this for myself. Nothing even happened. It’s probably just freaking me out for no reason. If this person really knows of my connection to the team, or especially to Tony, then they’ll have to be stupid to actually try anything, right? All I have right now is someone just… trying to sound creepy. So just until things sound more serious, I don’t need him worrying about me.”

“But if something does happen, you _have_ to tell him,” Peter said persuasively. I nodded.

“I will. I promise. And… you can help me, too, right?”

“Sure,” he told me. “No, I can help you, of course. I’ll keep a look out for anything suspicious.”

I smiled. I already felt loads better about the situation, and even though it still weighed on me, I knew that the chances of anything dangerous happening were very low. I wanted to say more, but then something happened all of a sudden that cut me off.

“I have a video call coming through from Mr. Stark,” Tom said. I raised my eyebrows in alarm. “Should I answer it?”

“Just a second!” I turned to Peter who was already on top of things, climbing out of his seat and into the back. “Get down, make sure he can’t see you through the seats!”

I clicked answer after a few seconds to allow Peter to get settled, just fast enough to not seem like I was trying to hide something. I felt grateful that my friend was flexible. I hoped his movement had stopped by the time my video began on Tony’s end.

“Hey, Small Fry, you make it to school alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I did. I’m actually just sitting in the car now because I have a few minutes to grab my stuff and go.”

He seemed to take this as a plausible response. “It’s good that you’re early, because the traffic could slow you down on certain days. By the way, I also wanted to let you know that I thought next week we could go to my Malibu house for Christmas. Your break starts then, right?”

“Oh, yeah, that would be cool,” I told him with enthusiasm, trying to seem nonchalant. “You haven’t been there in a while.”

“Well, not since it blew up,” Tony replied sarcastically. “It’s pretty nice, now, after getting redone. And this is a good time to do it, because when we get back, we’ll move into the facility upstate. You can just pack your stuff for the trip and then take it there, and you won’t have to deal with my tower anymore.”

I smirked. “Okay. Great.” I felt Peter moving around uncomfortably behind my chair and I cleared my throat to mask it.

“You good, kid? You seem a little… on-edge.”

I met Tony’s quizzical, skeptical expression, trying to blow it off. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that… you know, it’s my first time driving to school and I have a couple tests to take today. _And_ a creative writing meeting today, where I have to read my story for the class and I just… it’s fine, though.”

Tony finally smiled slightly. “Kid, you’ll do fine, okay? Don’t worry about it so much. And I didn’t know you were in a creative writing club…”

I turned sheepish, as it wasn’t something I usually admitted. “Oh, yeah, I am. Sorry, I forgot to tell you that I signed up for it. But thanks for checking in, Tony. I should start heading to class.”

“See you later, Sam.”

He hung up the video chat and I heard Peter instantly let out a heavy breath. I winced.

“I’m sorry… I am _really_ starting to hate this.”

He struggled to get out of his hunched-up position between the back of my seat and the floor. “I’d have to agree with you.”

“That’s it. We’re telling him that we’re friends as soon as we get back from Christmas break. No later than that. I’ve put it off long enough, anyway. I’m done.”

Peter appeared relieved to hear this, and so was I to have decided it. However, unbeknownst to us, our plans would soon be changed and _after_ the break would no longer be an option.

\---

The next day the pair of us sat on a roof top that overlooked the city but wasn’t crazily tall. Just enough so that we couldn’t be seen by any pedestrian. The street wasn’t overly busy, either. It was actually pretty quiet and serene, which was nice.

Peter munched on one of the doughnuts we’d gotten from the little corner store below us, as did I. We’d been talking about a lot of things that afternoon in the twenty minutes that we had been up there so far. Like our families, and school, and college… we _also_ discussed how we would plan to tell Tony that we’d been friends for over a year without him knowing about it. I tried my best to come up with a way that would reduce his anger as much as possible.

“Well, he’s going to be upset either way, just because we were keeping it from him,” Peter said wisely. “But I mean, how mad could he be, really? It’s not like you’ve been out doing drugs or got pregnant or anything. You just made a friend. Why doesn’t he want us to know each other, anyway?”

I shrugged. “He said that we could get into trouble together. I guess he thinks my chances of being noticed are higher with you, which is fair. But I think we’ve been doing pretty well with that. He just needs to trust us.”

Out of the blue, I heard something. A mechanical humming noise that clearly came from some type of engine. I could hear the exhaust from blasters. Something was flying near us.

“Oh, no.”

A flash of metal rose into the air in front of us quicker than I could blink. “Hi, Spidey.”

I opened my mouth to protest but my ticked adoptive father kept talking. Someone had noticed us alright.

“What are you doing up here? And by the way, who’s your friend?”

He reached forward with a red metal arm and promptly knocked off my cap to reveal my face completely. He let out an audible gasp that I could make out through the suit.

“ _Sami?_ Wow! Small world, right? It’s such a nice day to sit out in the open on a rooftop with Spider-Man and enjoy the fresh air, isn’t it?”

Tony’s faux-surprised tone was very hard to listen to. He had so obviously known all of this beforehand and was just mocking us to hide his anger. It made my stomach drop all the further. I gulped as Peter tried to cut in.

“Mr. Stark, we can explain—”

“No, I don’t want to hear it. Did you really think you could sit up here in your suit with Sami and that you would somehow _not_ be noticed? Forget it.” His iron mask turned to face me. “I’m taking you home. Pete, try and keep up.”

With that he grabbed me using one of his mechanical arms and flew off. He didn’t say a single word until we got back to the tower. I knew he was brewing with anger, and the entire time I tried to think up what I would say to calm him down. But I knew it was virtually useless. He had the right to be mad. This had not worked out at all like I’d planned.

And Peter and I were certainly in for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh. I guess they really are in for it. What's Tony's problem, anyways? 
> 
> I'm sure you've noticed by now, but the honest way I came up with a character like Sami is that I thought of the cutest, least awesome character you can expect and made her the hero. I kinda like it. I mean, come on, she still says "shooketh". I definitely don't still say that... hehe...


	5. Chapter 5

“I don’t get it. I really don’t. You know how I felt about this, you clearly did, or else you wouldn’t have kept it a secret, right? This whole time you two have been… do you wanna explain this?”

I opened my mouth to answer but I didn’t get the chance to.

“You know what, never mind. I’m going to tell you how I found you two, first. Because I mean, it’s _seven o’clock_ , Sam. I figured that _creative writing_ club couldn’t possibly have you out this late. _If_ you’re even actually in it. After yesterday when you were acting so weird, I decided to call and see where you were. I called three times, no answer. I thought it was about time I figure out why you’ve been coming home late without an explanation so often recently. So, I checked around. You weren’t at school. You weren’t at the park. Your car was parked outside Peter’s apartment, coincidentally, so I had Happy call up May and ask where you could be. She said that Ned told her that he saw you together and that you’d be heading down for doughnuts. While I flew out there, already _boiling_ I might add, FRIDAY found an article from the _school_ newspaper about _Spider-Man_ being seen out with his new friend, who looks very similar to _you_ , Sami. And then, to top it all off, I found you two sitting on the _roof_ of a corner store, out in the open. So now that you know my story, I wanna hear it from you. Let’s start with you, Peter. I’ll get plenty of chances to talk to Sami about this.”

He inhaled and I shot him a sympathetic, apologetic look. “Mr. Stark, I… it’s not like you think—”

“Oh, it isn’t?”

“No, it’s not.” Peter was firm on his stance, and I was beaming, nodding in agreement. “I can tell you honestly that neither of us wanted this to happen. Sami tried really hard not to talk to me, but…”

“She just couldn’t help herself?”

“It was my fault, Mr. Stark,” my friend told Tony sternly, yet with regret. “I followed her back to this tower one day after school and found out about… you know. But Sami couldn’t help what happened. It was an accident. After that, I knew her secret and we just… started hanging out. I helped her study sometimes, and she checked my papers. To be fair, we’ve tried really, _really_ hard to keep her from being noticed. Sami and I really just… fade into the background at school. We didn’t think that hanging out occasionally would be that big of a deal…”

“Oh, really, that’s the excuse you’re going with? Because you didn’t think it would be that _big_ of a _deal_? Something I asked you _specifically_ not to do, and you do it anyway because clearly I just asked that for no reason. Right? That’s how you two think?”

I deflated, but Peter had said enough, so it was well past my turn to speak up.

“I know you had a reason for us not to meet, but really, you can’t blame us. I just… Tony, I wanted a friend. It’s not easy for me to make them.”

“Also, Sami’s a really good person,” Peter added. “I just like talking to her.”

I was still glowing with happiness at what he was saying, but Tony was having absolutely _none_ of it. He rubbed his face in exasperation and turned around for second, smiling grimly, and then spun back around, gesturing to us in a pair.

“Hold on a second. You two aren’t…?”

“No!”

“Um, no, we’re, uh… not.”

Peter was quicker to get it out than I was, but I wasn’t disappointed whatsoever. I hated these types of conversations, and I would much rather deny everything than to have him come out with his true feelings, or something like that, which would be embarrassing in this particular situation.

Which… there were definitely none of those feelings, anyway.

He was also very swift to defend this. “I mean… it’s not like I wouldn’t ever… but we’re not. Sami and I are just friends. Yeah.”

I was _absolutely_ blushing by now and tried to cover it up by clearing my throat and averting my gaze from everyone in the room. Peter was flustered, too, but played it off better than I ever could. Tony wasn’t quite persuaded, I didn’t think, but went with it anyway.

“Um, okay. Okay. Whatever.” At least he seemed much more chill than when we arrived, because then he had looked ready to throttle someone, which terrified me, since it was either me or Peter that was in for it. Now he just looked like he could fuss our heads off for a while, which was still _marginally_ better.

“Look, I’m not mad that you guys are friends. I mean I am, but not because of that. I’m mad because you went behind my back and did something I asked you not to do which was dangerous and reckless and… _irresponsible_. It’s like you did it just to spite me. How long has it been going on, anyway?”

I chose to take the heat of this question for Peter, since he had stuck up for me a lot so far. The answer alone terrified me because it was the worst part. It gave him that much more of a reason to be upset with us. “Uh, ever since like, the beginning of last school year…”

It meant we’d been hiding our friendship from him and going out to do stuff together for over a year out of the two and a half years I’d been in this universe. There was no sugarcoating that.

Tony could have easily lost it right then and there, and I admired him for keeping a straight face. And yet his eyes… they told it all. Full of anger and disbelief, but mostly just disappointment. It got me.

And that’s when I started crying.

“Okay, kids. I’m about to send you home, Pete, but before I do you gotta hear me out. When I ask for something to be done, it’s because I have a reason for it. I didn’t ask Sami not to make friends with you just because I felt like it, as if I don’t want her making any friends or some crap like that. I did it because I don’t want her getting into things that are over her head. And you, Pete… I like you, but you have a knack for getting into other people’s business, exactly where you _shouldn’t_ be. That school news thing? I _knew_ that would happen, because with people like us comes the spotlight. Automatically. That is the _opposite_ of what Sami needs right now. Until she gets her life completely sorted out, she needs… protection. And yeah, okay, you guys can be “friends”, but if I hear about another trip to the rooftop in your suit, out in the open, or that you’ve been swinging through the streets with her, the deal’s off. I’m serious, Peter. Got it?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Stark. I understand. I’m… sorry that this happened.”

“Tell May you were out handling some business for me, alright?”

“Alright.” Peter glanced at me with utmost regret and pity in his eyes, which said it all. “See you around, Sami.”

I couldn’t respond. There were so many emotions pent up inside me right now and I had to let them out, but I was going to wait on Peter to leave. This had nothing to do with him anymore. This was between me and Tony. The smaller superhero shuffled out of the room, leaving Tony and I alone.

“I’m sorry I had to do that, kid. I know Peter’s a good guy, but… Sam, I _trusted_ you. I’m just disappointed you would hide it from me. If you had come to me as soon as he followed you home I would have been alright with it. We just need… ground rules for this.”

I didn’t want to hear another word of it. Tony was wrong. Neither Peter nor I had done anything so horribly wrong to deserve this treatment. The disappointment in his eyes is what pierced my heart and I couldn’t look at him. The thought of him losing his trust in me set in, and instead of showing the sadness I felt, I got angry.

I didn’t agree with this at all, and I was going to let him know about it.

“Tony, you’re wrong. About everything. About me, and him, and… you just don’t get it! I’ve tried _so hard_ to fit in, to stay in the background, and to not be noticed, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world. _Especially_ here with you! And you’re right, I didn’t have any friends. Not until Peter finally noticed me. He’s the only one so far that I feel like I can talk to, because he _does_ understand what it’s like. It’s not like I tried to hide this from you, I was just… _scared_. Of this, exactly this. We’re not _toddlers_ , Tony. You can’t just separate us like that and expect it to be _fine_. I wanted to just have a normal life, with friends, you know? But now I get it. I can’t have that.”

He lifted his hand and let out a noise of protest but I ignored this as I stormed off to my room, tears streaming down my face. He blew a lungful of air out slowly, running a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do.

I crashed into my bed and tried to steady my breathing. I knew that we had both probably overreacted, but I was going to stand my ground with him, as I was sure he would, too. So what we both needed, I guessed, was… time.

\---

**about one year prior to this**

Yeah, I knew what morning it was. But when it came to sleep, I had my priorities straight.

It felt so good, which is why I woke up so grumpily. Someone was knocking on my door. It could only have been one of two people. And then the clarification came, because Pepper would never have said anything like what I heard next.

“Are you decent?”

I would have rolled my eyes if they’d been open. I started to stir in my bed, moaning, “Come in.”

I had sat up and started to rub my eyes by the time Tony opened the door with an armful of festively decorated presents. At first I thought that my blurry vision was playing tricks on me, but when my eyes finally focused, my theory was confirmed.

Tony Stark was wearing a Santa Claus hat.

“Wake up, kid. Rise and shine. It’s Christmas morning, for Pete’s sake. What kind of kid are you, sleeping in today? It’s almost nine-thirty. Isn’t this supposed to be the other way around?”

I inhaled and shifted around in my bed, not feeling so grumpy anymore, now that I saw him. I could tell that someone was standing around the corner of my doorway. I heard a whisper, and then saw Tony cross his arms. It sounded like it was Pepper, who had told him sternly, “ _Say the thing_!”

And then I got a half-hearted, “Merry Christmas, ho, ho, ho.”

I instantly began snickering as I saw a flash from a camera, and Pepper entered the room.

“Priceless. I didn’t get you in any of the pictures, by the way,” she told me. “I just wanted to capture this… moment.”

We were both laughing, now, which made Tony begin to stride out of the room, muttering to himself irritably. I looked up at his wife curiously.

“You asked him to wear that…? How in the world did you get him to actually put it on?”

“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “I think he just wanted to make today special and memorable for you. And let’s be honest, it’s… cute.”

I grinned happily. “I love it.”

Tony ended up wearing the floppy red hat with the fuzzy white ball at the tip for pretty much the entire day. I couldn’t get tired of seeing him in it. It was just the three of us that Christmas. We ate pancakes for breakfast, exchanged gifts, and just admired the homey feeling that resonated throughout the tower as brought about by the sparkling tree on the main floor.

Soft, jazzy seasonal music played in the background while Pepper and I made a batch of sugar cookies and decorated them together. Tony ate… well, several. I was content doing whatever that day, because it was Christmas, for crying out loud. The point was to spend time with the people you care about. It didn’t have to be anything more than that, not for me.

That night, Tony and I were sitting by his fireplace (a fake one, of course, but it was, uh… warm) with a perfect view of the city lights, which seemed much brighter tonight than ever before. I guessed it was because of all the extra decorative lights that had been put up for the season. You couldn’t get a view like this where I was from.

I absolutely loved it.

“Thanks for the cookies last night, by the way,” Tony said, breaking the silence. “Oh wait, did I just ruin it for you?”

I pursed my lips in annoyance. “Tony, I’m sixteen, now. I don’t believe in that kind of stuff, you know that.”

He shrugged. “You’re the one who left a plate of cookies and glass of milk by the fireplace last night with a note signed for _Santa Claus_.”

I made a face at him. “Because it’s a tradition! And you seemed to appreciate it.”

He cocked his head at me. “Speaking of traditions, how did Christmases usually go for you, you know, back home? Anything like this?”

I was taken aback by this sudden question, because he almost never talked to me about my old life. I’d assumed he wanted me to move on, which I did, too, but tonight it felt nice to think back to how it used to be. Tony didn’t appear to have a problem with it. I was curious as to why he even asked in the first place, though.

“Actually, yeah. We usually didn’t have huge plans. I just liked this, you know, spending time with each other. On Christmas Eve we always had a get-together with all our extended family and ate a huge dinner and all the kids opened their presents. Every year it was the same.”

“Huh. I can’t imagine you around a bunch of kids. You had a lot of cousins?”

I rolled my eyes humorously. “Oh, so many. My sister and I were the only ones over the age of ten at the time that I… left. So we had a lot of little kids running around all the time, yeah. We were always the great-grandchildren… I’m sure there’s like, twenty little ones by now. Our family wasn’t exactly small.”

Tony eyes were very far away by this time, like his mind had gone off to some distant place. I supposed it was because he didn’t think about things like this often. _Family_ was a concept that was pretty new to him and seemed to be evolving constantly in his perspective.

I also figured he was thinking about how much my life had changed. Which, honestly… ditto.

“Listen, kid. I know this isn’t going to be perfect, and you get what it’s like to not get what you want in life, right? Just as well as I do. But I’m going to… do what I can to make what’s left of your years as a kid as much like your old life as possible. Because you deserve good memories of your teenage years. And if I couldn’t get that, I’m sure as heck going to make sure you do. You’re too much like me, kid.”

I hummed and met Tony’s eyes. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “When you’re stubborn and do things your own way and never let anyone see when something bothers you, no matter how bad you feel. That’s me.”

I was in awe of how deep his explanation went. There were things he listed that I hadn’t even noticed were similar between us.

Before anything else could be said, I leaned over and wrapped an arm around his waist, giving him a side hug.

“I know I can’t change how things went for me, but for making do with what I have, this isn’t so bad,” I told him quietly. “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t have my life here any other way.”

“You sure about that? You wouldn’t rather have Steve or Clint adopt you? Seems to me like they might do a better job.”

I thought about this seriously. “Well, maybe at first. But actually, I think Steve would be out of his depth about taking care of me. He’s got enough on his plate, with not being from this century, and stuff. I probably would be safe with him, but _not_ , at the same time, with all the stuff he does. You know? And Clint already has his own family. He knows how to handle that. So I wouldn’t be doing him any favors.”

“Oh, so now you’re doing me a _favor_ by being here? Please be so kind as to explain what you mean.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Well, I think that… having me here could help you… refocus. Because would you really have married Pepper like you did if it weren’t for me? Would you have started taking time out of your lab on the weekends without me being here? I don’t think so. And those things are all for the better.”

Tony made a face at me. “Well, I see your point, but I give credit where credit’s due, kid. I would still have done all those things without you…”

I cocked an eyebrow at him skeptically and he abandoned the argument and turned defensive.

“So you think you’re turning me into a… a _family_ man, huh?” he questioned in disbelief. I sighed.

“It’s not a bad thing,” I started to say. “And not necessarily a family man… I just think that when you… when you know what you have to fight for and come back to, then your focus is better on what needs to be done.”

I gave it a moment before looking up at him, as he had gone silent. I couldn’t believe it – was Tony actually speechless? Because of something _I_ said? No. It couldn’t have been true.

It was. He stared out in front of us, like he was deep in thought. Neither of us spoke, and just let my words set in. To be honest, I hadn’t really considered what I was actually saying when I said it, but that didn’t mean I believed it any less. It was true.

“I guess you’re right, Small Fry. I think a sense of… coming home was what I was missing before you came. You’ve helped me a lot more than I’ve given you credit for. So… thanks.”

I grinned, knowing that this small statement of gratitude was the equivalent of a three-page essay on feelings, for this guy. I nodded.

“It’s mutual.” I turned my head out to the view behind the glass before us, and as if on cue, I noticed a few snowflakes starting to float down from the sky. We’d have a white Christmas by tomorrow morning. I inhaled peacefully.

“Merry Christmas, Tony.”

Tony’s brown eyes locked on mine, and he smiled softly. “Merry Christmas, kid.”

“Is that why you wore the Santa hat? Because you wanted to make today memorable for me?”

“No, the hat just looked great on me.” He frowned. “Huh. Maybe don’t tell anyone about that.”

I snickered. “Whatever.”

\---

I was quickly realizing that it was better to pack angry. I figured I had less of a chance of forgetting something when I was upset, because I took my time to make sure I had everything, rather than when I was happy and thought I had it all under control.

But I didn’t even have my emotions under control, right now.

It wasn’t that I was still mad at Tony – I knew we would make up soon enough. It wasn’t possible for us to go on mad at each other for very long. Either he would get sick of it and apologize (which is what I was holding out for), or I would go to him. We weren’t both _complete_ jerks.

What still bothered me is how dramatic it all had gotten. Tony had taken all his anger out on us, and I was not hesitant to let him know how I felt. Then I had embraced my angsty teen-self last night and blown up on him in return, said some things I was starting to regret, and marched off to cry in my room. I didn’t like this feeling whatsoever; having things that needed to be resolved with someone you care about always really irked me. And since it was right at the beginning of my Christmas break, I felt the need to fix it as quickly as possible.

But I was stubborn, and I was _definitely_ in the right, so I had no plans to initiate the conversation anytime soon. The problem was that Tony was like me, in the same way.

Well, one of us had to lose our dignity sooner or later. I needed him to be the one to do it.

Since my mind was already made up, I packed my stuff in frustration, knowing it would be a while before I could talk to Tony normally again. I didn’t want it to ruin our trip. In fact, that was the very last thing I wanted.

Right before we were scheduled to head to the airport, Peter sent me a text. I was partially disappointed that he had waited this long to message me, but I also felt like if he’d texted last night, then he would have received a much less level-headed answer than I was able to give today.

_Hey, how’d things go last night? I didn’t want to leave, but I think it was smart to send me home, too. You two needed to talk._

_Yeah, well, we didn’t do much of that._

_What, why? What happened?_

I sighed and began describing the events that unfolded the previous evening. _I kinda yelled back at him and left the room before he could answer._ _I wish I wasn’t such a teenager_

He responded in the most sympathetic way he knew how.

_Well you can’t really help it. And you were right, anyways. He shouldn’t have yelled at us like that. I think we feel bad enough already._

_Exactly. That’s mainly why I’m upset. He definitely overreacted. Maybe I did too, but that’s beside the point. I’m an adolescent. He’s an adult._

_(grinning face) He also worries about us. I can’t believe I’m defending him, because it kills me, too, sometimes, but at least he said we can still be friends._

_Yeah. But I wouldn’t listen to him. I’m 18, now. I can choose my own friends._

_Gosh that’s a lot of salt. You’ve definitely thought about it, then. I wouldn’t have wanted to be Mr. Stark last night_

I fought back a smile. _Stop cheering me up. I want to stay mad for a while_

_Sorry_

Peter then proceeded to send me a cat gif, which was so pointless and _stupid_ that I choked back a laugh. He wasn’t sorry, at all. And I was glad.

_I’ll talk to you when I get back from our trip, okay? We’ll hang out somewhere, maybe not on a building anymore. But I don’t know where I’ll get a view like that…_

_Maybe inside the building?_ I rolled my eyes. _And I hope it goes well on your trip (thumbs up)_

I took a deep breath. So did I. I retracted my previous thoughts about being stubborn – I was going to stick to my guns just until I couldn’t take it anymore, which probably wouldn’t take long. If I had to make-up with Tony myself, so be it. I _strongly_ disliked not being on speaking terms with people.

Happy met me down in the garage and I loaded my bags in the truck of the car.

“This is what I’m bringing to Malibu, the rest of the stuff in my room is ready to be moved,” I told him. He nodded. and closed the back over my baggage. I looked up at him questioningly.

“Is Tony…?”

“He’s driving himself to the airport,” Happy informed me. “I don’t know what’s been up with him lately…”

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, because I knew precisely what the issue was, but I wasn’t about to open up to my driver about all of my personal problems. Happy liked me and I was going to leave it at that.

The short drive to the airport was silent as I thought to myself. It was interesting to me that I hadn’t heard from at least Pepper by now. I had almost thought she’d work as a mediator between us, but I supposed she decided to mind her own business and stay out of this. I didn’t blame her.

Before long I was on Tony’s private plane to his home in California, sitting across the aisle from a sleeping Happy. I’d gotten used to traveling like this whenever we had somewhere to go. I plugged in my ear buds and listened to a bunch of music, but mostly slow songs, because I wanted to think to myself. I didn’t really feel like dancing right now.

I knew that Tony was sitting in the cabin right in front of mine, having chosen to sit on the other side of the door from where he figured I’d be. It didn’t escape my notice – in fact, I’d been unable to keep from thinking about it.

There wasn’t much I could do, though. Pepper was clearly in there with him, and I wanted to give them as many moments alone as I could, because she could calm him down better than anyone else in the world, even me. _Especially_ me. Also, I’d be sacrificing the last ounce of my pride by going in there to him.

Huh. Maybe the longer we dragged this whole silent treatment thing out, the better it would feel when we did make up.

After a few hours of nothing happening, Tony’s large, modern Malibu home came into sight and the plane approached the ground slowly. My biggest goal at the moment was to find where I was staying and hang out there for a while. Unpacking, of course. That was all. _Right_.

However, almost as soon as I got my stuff to the room I’d be staying in, FRIDAY got my attention.

“Sami, the guests have just arrived. They will need someone to meet them at the door. Tony is unavailable to get down there in time, but you are.”

I cocked my head up. “Guests? What guests?”

I didn’t wait for an answer, as I got up and quickly hurried down the stairs to the front door of the house to see who it was. It was a strange feeling – being in a house, for once. Where you didn’t have to take an elevator to get to the bathroom, and the main entrance was just downstairs.

Soon I was grinning from ear to ear, seeing who walked in.

“Hi Wanda!” I exclaimed with excitement, to which she smiled back brightly and rushed forward to hug me. But through her friendly embrace, I saw someone else that made me stop for a second. I pulled away to get a better look. At first I thought it was the actor, Paul Bettany.

But I swiftly realized who it actually was – who it had to be.

“Vision?”

I discovered that I had accidentally cut Wanda off from introducing him to be, which made him look at me perplexedly.

“Yes. I don’t believe I've seen you since…”

I was quick to explain. “Yeah, since you were red. I’ve heard a lot about how you…” He obviously noticed where my eyes lingered the most.

“The Stone…? It also gave me away, didn’t it?” Vision reached up to touch the bright yellow gem that stuck out of his forehead like a sore thumb in comparison to his normal, human form. He must have noticed that my eyes were drawn up to it. I attempted to avert my gaze from it, because I really didn’t think it was that weird. Honestly I thought it was cool.

I smiled. “I guess that’s part of it, yeah…”

_Along with the fact that he looks exactly like the actual actor who plays him, now…_

“Vis, I don’t know if you knew, but Tony adopted Sami a while back.”

“Ah,” he replied pensively.

I raised my eyebrows and nodded slowly. “It’s complicated,” I admitted. “But it’s nice to see you both. And so… you guys are here… why?”

“Tony invited us,” Wanda explained. “He said that you three would be coming to stay here for Christmas and that we were welcome to join you.”

“Absolutely right, glad you quoted me on that,” Tony strode into the room, agreeing. “Hey Wanda, Vision. What’s up? Come to enjoy the holidays in style?”

Wanda shrugged sarcastically. “I don’t know, we were invited and we didn’t have any better plans, so….”

“Heck right you didn’t. This is going to be great. Vis, I hope you like to party because that’s all we’re gonna be doing for the next two weeks.”

I guessed I could say that this Christmas was going to be _lit_. Get it? Like the lights and… stuff? Right, I’ll show myself out.

Vision smiled. “I look forward to it.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” said Tony gladly. “You guys get settled, tonight’s starting the holiday celebration. I’m talking music, decorations, drinks…”

I decided that I had to say something somewhere, so I cleared my throat and cut in, here.

“Uh, maybe let’s skip that last part…? And I can help with anything else you need—”

“Okay, great. I’ll see you guys around, be upstairs if you need me.”

And just like that Tony left the room, clutching his holographic touchscreen thingy, and heading up the round staircase without another word. Wanda’s piercing eyes were quickly on me.

“What was that about? He didn’t even look in your direction the whole time and ignored everything you just said. I had the feeling something was up with you two, but I didn’t think it was _this_ big of a deal.”

I bit my lip and shifted around uncomfortably. “It’s, uh, that obvious, huh?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Okay, we need to talk. Excuse us for a minute or two, Vis. We’ll catch up with you later.”

I sighed. Wanda had been the one out of the team that I felt the closest with, since when they had arrived in my universe she was the closest to my age and knew what it was like to be in my position. She had just lost Pietro when we met, and we bonded over the fact that we were both starting new lives once I left my universe. And I was glad to find out that Wanda kept contact with me even after she left the tower. We’d had some good conversations, and I was comfortable talking to her. Wanda understood me more than most people. Especially Tony.

So maybe this could be good for me. I planned on listening to her advice about this.

**(one day after school a few months ago)**

Peter and I were sitting on the bench outside of Delmar’s, as I had run in to get some stuff for dinner and he had met me there, claiming it was a coincidence that he had nothing going on, but I doubted it. We were just talking. Apparently he was waiting for any alerts about danger in the city, but none had come so far.

“So, I just thought of something. It’s like… get to know you questions, but not the stupid kind.”

I smirked. “Do those even exist?”

Peter shrugged. “Probably not, but just humor me. Name one thing you like, one thing you hate, and one thing you want.”

I stared at him. “Did you read that somewhere or did you just now make that up? Because you could have easily made it up or read it in _Teen Vogue_.”

He huffed. “Fine, it’s okay if you don’t want to—”

“No, no, I do want to, I’ll answer!” I told him quickly, regretting (but not) how I’d made fun of him. “Uh, okay. I really like, um… afternoon naps while it’s raining and when I have a good book to read. Something I hate… I hate intellectuals who think that’s all there is. Like the people who mostly care about knowing all the stuff and have no time for anything else. I hate it when I see people who are smart look down on everyone else who might do better at other things.”

Peter looked very deep in thought. “Wow, that’s a really good answer. And I have to agree with you. People like that… suck.”

I grinned at his… less than articulate word choice, but I couldn’t have agreed more. He went on. “So, one thing you want would be…?”

“Uhh… hmm. Can I pick two? Like one for now and one for the future? Because the question could go either way, I think.”

“Sure.”

“Well, right now I’d really like to have a puppy. I’ve asked Tony about it several times but he won’t let me. Not that it would be a good fit for the tower, anyway, but I still want one. I think Pepper agrees.”

Peter appeared amused by this, turning to face me. “Yeah? Do you have a certain breed in mind?”

“Not really,” I explained. “Any type that’s kinda small and cute and that could be a good friend would be nice. And for the future, I really want to be the author of a book someday.”

He smirked and I prodded him. “Okay, your turn. You gotta participate now.”

He sighed. “Fine, uh, one thing I like has to be being Spider-Man and helping people. It’s fun sometimes and when it’s not, it pushes me to do things I couldn’t do otherwise and I guess I can appreciate that. One thing I hate is when people abuse their power. Like how people sometimes use what they have to put other people down, or take away from them, or hurt them, just because they can’t stop it. That’s the main reason I do what I do – to stop that from happening. I’d like to think I give power to people like me, or… like I used to be, I guess. And I also think that’s why you have your power.”

This made me stop beaming with pride for a second. “…What? Why?”

Peter shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Because if the universe really did choose you to have this belief power, I think it was for a reason. I mean, if I were the universe, I’d pick you, too. You’re totally the least likely person to abuse that power. From what I’ve seen, you clearly only want to use it to help people, and I get that. Other people… they wouldn’t be as cautious.”

I thought about this, long and hard, and supposed he had a strong point. I could easily see other people use this belief for selfish reasons, to get what they want in life. And then there was me, who hid it from everybody and felt bad about using it to affect the probability of a coin toss. I _could_ be using this power to get rich, or get scholarships, or even hurt the chances of other people to succeed, but that was just… _wrong_.

“That’s really deep, Peter. But I guess you’re on to something. So thanks. That means a lot.” He smiled up at me and I tried with every fiber of my being not to blush.

“Okay, okay, last one. Something you want.”

Peter took a deep breath and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Well, I have an answer for this one, but it’s really stupid, so…”

“No, no, what is it?” I asked curiously.

“I… I want to be an Avenger. Not… not like, anytime soon, but eventually. I know, it’s probably dumb to think that but—”

“Peter, that is _not_ dumb. It’s completely reasonable to want that.”

“Really? You honestly think Tony would ever trust me with that? It’s a lot of responsibility.”

“Absolutely,” I assured him. “He does like you. He may not think you’re completely capable of doing stuff on his level, yet, but in my opinion, he’s missing a lot if he doesn’t see what you could add to the team. Just wait for the next galactic disaster to come along. Tony will realize that he needs your help. Really, the team needs all the help they can get for the future.”

Peter hummed. “That’s reassuring…”

“It may be depressing, but I’m serious.”

“So I only have to wait until I’m like thirty-five and out of shape,” teased the high school student. I crossed my arms.

“Definitely not. Just maybe until you’re out of school.”

“When I’m just thirty, then.”

I protested stubbornly. “Well, would _you_ hire a teenager to a team of the world’s most powerful superheroes who take saving on their shoulders and do what no one else can do?”

“Uh… _maybe_.”

“I’m just saying that Tony is trying to protect you. Just like he is me. Because he cares.”

Peter frowned. “I don’t like it when you use my words against me.”

I stifled a laugh. “Maybe I just realized that you were right. And Tony’s like, _fifty_ , anyway, and he still does great.”

That last comment got a big laugh from him, which made me smile proudly. I guessed that I should take my own advice, that I’d stolen from Peter, really. Whenever I felt the urge to be upset with Tony, I needed to remember that. That he wasn’t perfect, but he did try to protect me.

\---

I sat in the room I was staying in that night after the festivities, mindlessly looking around on my phone. Suddenly it buzzed and I got a text from Peter.

It was a picture of him wearing a Christmas sweater with his spider-suit underneath. I chuckled and typed up a reply.

_Cute! I think that you should definitely make that a seasonal style. In fact, I dare you to go out tonight with that get-up._

It took him about fifteen minutes to answer, but when he did it was another picture.

_…Done._

The selfie showed him holding up a peace-sign in front of the _A_ of the Avengers Tower, hanging onto the side of it with his spider-grip. I grinned.

_Great! Now I know that holiday cheer is being spread the right way._

_Speaking of holiday cheer, how’s it going?_

_Oh, don’t remind me. I’d like to get away from here. It’s miserable, Peter. We haven’t spoken a word to each other since last night. Any holiday cheer around here would be a Christmas miracle._

Peter didn’t answer for a while and I didn’t check it for a few moments. I thought over the events of that night. I had talked with Wanda for a good thirty minutes about the… issue, and then hung out with Vision for a while. It was nice, actually. By then it was dinner time and Pepper came down with the meal, with Tony at her heels. The five of us sat down and ate in his entertaining dining room, and yet it was the furthest thing from that. I couldn’t think, couldn’t talk, couldn’t focus because Tony was sitting there, quietly ignoring me. I didn’t know who else noticed it, but it was all I could see. He smiled and made a comment every now and then, but his eyes never drifted anywhere near where I was sitting.

I couldn’t handle it anymore. So I scarfed down my food, apologized and asked to be excused. The gesture made the chatter die down, but I hadn’t been paying attention to it, anyways. Tony’s reaction was perfectly readable as I left. He seemed surprised, then slightly protestant, and then noiselessly upset. I saw it in the way he looked down and clenched his jaw. He knew exactly what was going on, and yet he did nothing.

What made me the angriest is that this didn’t have to be such a big deal. We could have already talked this out and it could have been over. But no. He’d… _we’d_ dragged this out and _now_ it was a big deal. So big that I could barely stand to be in the same room with him for more than two seconds, and he clearly felt the same way.

That was why I stayed up in the room, technically sulking but I would never admit it. The only thing that had brightened my mood was the text from Peter, until someone’s face popped up on the screen that stood on my bedside table. I hid from the view of the camera pointedly.

“Hey, you asleep yet? I know you like to turn in early. Hope you’re still on your phone. You’ve got a few hours of hypnotic web-surfing left, right?”

I got the obvious mental picture he was describing of myself with the black and white swirls in my eyes as I stared at my phone, which was humorous, but it made me try to act all the more agitated.

“You’re one to talk. I bet you’re working, anyways. It is Christmas vacation, you know.”

“Yeah, about that… Listen, I, uh, got something to talk to you about and I know it’s a little late but could you just come up for a sec?”

I scoffed. “A little late? That’s an understatement…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, you have a reason to be upset and, well… this has all been blown out of proportions, I think.”

“Oh, really? You think?”

He seemed at a loss for my reaction. I was really going to play this pouting teenager thing out until it got something serious from him. Luckily, he started to go with it.

“Yeah, um… Wanda had a talk with me.”

I raised my eyebrows. She’d told me that she would try and talk some sense into him, but I hadn’t expected it to… _work_.

“She told me what you said and that’s why I’m calling. Please… come down. I just want to talk. It’ll only be a few minutes and then you can be back to bed, hopefully less sulky this time.”

Tony’s eyes finally drifted up to the screen and I guessed that he was being as sincere as possible. And his eyes… all of my effort to be stony melted away and what I saw in them, at last, was regret.

I clicked my tongue on my teeth. “Be there in a minute.”

I turned off the screen, taking a moment to think over what I wanted to say to him. I was done being angry. And I hated being the salty teenager who only wanted to get her way.

I wanted Tony to trust in me again.

_“I don’t know, I’m not… mad, anymore. Yeah, he overreacted, and yeah, we made a mistake, but what hurts the most is the way he looked at me. He said he didn’t trust me. Wanda, I saw the disappointment in his eyes and that got me more than any yelling he could have done. I don’t want to be dramatic, but I can’t face him like this. I didn’t mean to go behind his back but it happened and I did and I just… I don’t know how to tell him that. And he clearly doesn’t know how to handle this.”_

I supposed that the little confession I’d given Wanda was what she had told him, and to be honest, I wasn’t mad. It was something I probably could never have expressed to him on my own.

I stepped into his living room with all of this on my mind. Tony’s back was to me, but he turned when he heard my footsteps.

“Uh, hi.”

I smirked. “Hi.”

“Wanna sit down?”

“I’ve been sitting for a while; I think I’ll just stand for a second.”

Tony bit his lip. It was awkward, sure, but I was going to let him start this on his own. He was the one who called me down here, anyways. Fortunately he didn’t hesitate to plop himself down on the couch and begin talking.

“So you know what happened yesterday. I think we should talk about that. I know what you’re going to say so I’ll spare you the breath. I overreacted, I jumped to conclusions, and I acted like a complete butt—”

“I think that pretty much covers it,” I agreed softly, trying my best to be sarcastic and back to my old self. I didn’t know how obvious it was, but I really did hate being a jerk back to him this whole time. I wanted to be nice, for once. That was more me.

“Yeah, well, I called you down here so that I could apologize. I shouldn’t have gone at you two like that. Maybe I could have gotten more information first… or maybe that would have made it worse. Anyways, I could have given you two the benefit of the doubt, but I didn’t, and I’m sorry for… making you feel bad.”

 _I know Peter’s a good guy, but… Sam, I_ trusted _you. I’m just disappointed you would hide it from me._

It was like he had read my mind.

“No, actually… that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry for making you think I’m disappointed in you. Because I’m not. The reason it bothered me so much was that.. it’s like I said last year. You remind me of _me_ too much. I was really just yelling at myself, my younger self, which doesn’t really have much to do with you, when we get down to it.”

I made a confused face at him. Leave it to Tony to build a miniature arc-reactor and a fully-functional iron suit while being held captive in a cave and then not know how to do words.

“Okay, you lost me there. What?”

“Well, you’re like me when I was your age. I did things a lot of times because I thought it was the best for me, because I thought I could get away with it, and especially because someone else didn’t want me to. It got me into trouble. And for you… I thought you did it out of spite, just like me. Which now I know you didn’t, and it wasn’t wrong, but I wanted you to know that’s why I was mad.”

“So… you weren’t mad at me, but at… you?”

Tony smiled grimly. “It’s so stupid, right? I guess I was like… projecting the idea of myself as a teenager onto you, and I yelled at my own idiot-self because I assumed your motivations were the same as mine used to be.”

What he was telling me seemed to make sense to half of my brain and flew right over the other half, so I took a stab at nodding slowly in agreement.

“…Right.”

He sighed and shook his head. “What I’m getting at, I guess, is that I don’t think you did anything wrong and that I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Okay, maybe you shouldn’t have kept it from me, but I’ll admit it – I’m not the easiest person to talk to. And I don’t know how to do… _this_. You seem to be doing fine and I don’t want to mess that up. I wasn’t seeing Peter from your perspective. To me he’s a kid who thinks he knows a lot but doesn’t. To you, though, he understands a heck of a lot more than even me, so he turned out to be a good friend for you. Better than anyone else, anyway, and it wasn’t wrong to do that, no matter what I told you. So, that’s all I wanted you to know.”

He paused to look at me, probably to gauge my reaction. I found myself smiling at him.

“Then we’re cool, now?”

“I’d say we’re basically icebergs.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great. And you should know, too, that I wasn’t upset that you yelled at us. I didn’t blame you for being upset. I guess it just comes back to the trust thing – I can’t handle that.”

“Yeah… yeah I get it.” Tony seemed deep in thought once again but I shook him out of it.

“So, what have you decided about me and Peter? Can we still hang out?”

He waved this off. “Oh, yeah, sure. You can even invite him over for dinner sometime.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at me like he was pushing something that I was not ready for. I shook my head.

“Ms. Parker makes much better meals than I do…”

“Well, just maybe don’t let him take you swinging around Manhattan, ‘kay? That’s a little too obvious. You should probably stick to the ground for now. And please… make it easy for both of us and don’t hide anything else from me? Especially not if it’s more life-changing than this.”

He said it in such a suggestive way that the words almost spilled out of my mouth. I figured that I should tell him about my power if he didn’t already know.

“Actually, Tony… I—”

“Who wants hot chocolate?” Pepper was descending the stairs, carrying a tray complete with three mugs. “I made some for everyone, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it.”

The nice woman handed us each a mug of the warm cocoa, and I grinned to see that they even had tiny marshmallows floating around on top.

“Thanks, Pepper, this is great!” I told her thankfully. Tony sat back on the sofa.

“Yep, don’t mind if I do…”

She sat with us, and she could tell that our talk was over, since we casually conversated together with ease. For the first time I could enjoy the ambiance of the holidays without anything serious on my mind. About thirty minutes later, Pepper offered to go check on Wanda and Vision, which allowed Tony to turn his attention back to me.

“Right, now what was it you were trying to tell me?”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, that. Well, I was just going to say, um… thank you. For apologizing, for explaining, for everything. And especially this trip. I think… I think it’ll be great.”

He nodded but his gaze didn’t let up. “You sure that’s all?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

I smiled at him in assurance, trying to show that I was happy, and he seemed to let it go. That night, I returned to my room and checked my phone. I had finally received an answer from Peter, so I read it while I drained the last of my hot chocolate.

_Really? That’s weird. He actually just called me, said that he’s not mad at us and that we can still hang out. He didn’t seem upset at all._

_Yeah, he just talked to me, too. We’re all good, except…_

_Except what?_

_Now I feel extra guilty for not telling him about my power. He said not to keep anything life-changing from him anymore._

_Well, you can tell him if you want, but now really isn’t the time, imo. You just made up_

I pressed my lips together. Peter had a point. Was I wrong for wanting to savor this peaceful time between without ruining it once again?

The problem was… if I didn’t tell him on this trip, then when would I ever tell him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that was dramatic.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Another two-for-one today. This author really needs to stop. I'm just excited to show you all where this is going. Sami is just such a baby and she really needs to make better life decisions for herself. But it makes for a great story! I don't know how many consistent readers I have, but I hope at least someone out there is enjoying this. Thanks so much for reading.

I shot up out of my seat the second it was over. “Aha! Yes! That’s what you guys get for putting me on _easy!_ ”

Ned still stared at the screen incredulously. “Wow. You really get into this.” I deflated slightly.

“Sorry, I just got really worked up…”

Peter had already set his controller down and was now looking at me. “No, no, you’re really good… you said you hadn’t played a game like this in a while, that’s why I put you on easy. How many video games have you played?”

I turned sheepish. “Well, I honestly haven’t played such a violent game since I was little…”

“ _Little?_ Seriously?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I was a lot more hard-core back then. I used to play shooting games all the time with my dad before he… you know, left. I’m a little out of practice but I guess I got the hang of it. And admit it, you two underestimated me because I’m a girl. Right?”

He scoffed. “No, definitely not…”

“Yeah, right. It’s fine. I smoked you, so it’s all good.”

Ned exhales. “Well, you can play against me on hard any time. _I’m_ not going to underestimate you anymore.”

I smirked and Peter was growing agitated with his friend.

“Dude, that’s not – we didn’t… _ugh_. Whatever.”

I met Peter at the door after a while, since it was starting to get late and I needed to get to bed. It was just the two of us saying goodbye, as Ned was still in the bedroom packing up his stuff. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and looked back at him.

“Hey, thanks for inviting me over tonight,” I told him. “I had fun.”

“Yeah, so did I. I’m glad you came.”

I got a sudden idea. “Well, for next time we should think of something that I love to do that you haven’t done. Like… binge-watching a series, or something. Have you seen the Harry Potter movies?”

He thought about this. “Uh, not all of them, I don’t think.”

I felt myself light up. “Okay, I’m making a list, and that’s at the top. Tony has a great theater room where we could watch them. If you want.”

“Nice,” Peter agreed. “I also, um, was wondering if you had any plans this weekend.”

I made a face him. “No, I don’t think so. Why? What were you planning?”

“You’ll just have to see.”

I sighed. “If you take me to the top of another building without telling me, you gotta take that one up with Tony.”

“No, no, this thing is completely safe and… on the ground. Very Mr. Stark-approved.”

I grinned. “Great. Then why won’t you tell me what it is?”

Peter appeared annoyed at my asking. “It’s not like it’s a huge secret, I just think you’ll enjoy it more if you find out when we get there. It’ll be the three of us, anyway.”

“Fine,” I finally agreed. “But you have to help me study for algebra first.”

“Hey, I asked you to help me with my history essay last week!”

“I’ll look at it _after_ we study for math,” I conceded cheekily, teasing him. Peter crossed his arms.

“Come on, your math grade is _great_. Most people in our class would be jealous of a grade that high.”

I smirked knowingly. I knew that. Then why was I asking him to help me with it? Peter was clearly wondering the same. I was a straight-A student – keeping up an algebra grade was not hard for me. I didn’t really need much extra help.

I just liked having an excuse to spend more time with him.

That night, it became clearer to me by the second that sleep was not going to be possible for me. I tossed and turned for what felt like half the night before I fell asleep, but not for long. I thought I would finally receive some much-needed rest, but instead I was sucked into a dream beyond my control.

_When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a different New York than the one I knew. Things had apparently gone very wrong. Destruction had arrived there. Buildings were crumbling as I watched, smoke rose into the air, and debris littered every street in sight. A heavy feeling lingered over my chest. As I turned around, I saw the team around me. Well, what seemed to be left of it. Everyone looked worn, with suits in tatters and scrapes covering what I could see of their bodies. Then I noticed who was directly beside me._

_Peter’s spider suit had many rips in it, and a place on his forehead was bleeding. I tried to speak to him, but he lowered his head and my voice didn’t seem to be working at the time. Suddenly my attention was stolen by a figure stepping out of a portal to some other world that materialized nearby._

_My breath was taken away almost completely. I studied the giant enemy that faced us._

_“You all have put up a valiant fight, I’ll give you credit for that. But the one I want to focus on is this little one. Sami.”_

_I wanted to look away. Really, I wanted to faint but my dream persona wouldn’t allow that. So I held his purple gaze for as long as possible._

_If Thanos wanted to focus on me, I’d let him. I wasn’t going to cower, not anymore._

_“You, Sami, are much more centrally important than you realize. And you should be proud. You are helping to balance the entire universe. It will be grateful for your sacrifice one day. It is a great honor to provide for such a worthy cause. You have been a great help to me so far, and I hope you will forgive me for what I will do next.”_

_I opened my mouth to respond but I couldn’t, because Thanos disappeared suddenly and I spun around to see the team looking at me wearily._

_I couldn’t tell if they had a plan, or not, but they didn’t seem to have lost all hope. However, as I scanned them, I noticed that some were missing, including one particular member that didn’t sit well with me at all. The absence was unnerving and conspicuous, to say the least. Finally I seemed to be able to talk._

_“Where’s Tony?”_

_No one looked like they wanted to answer, which caused me to immediately assume the worst. Peter’s was the last face I saw, and he appeared very apologetic. But I didn’t get to ask any more questions because I turned around again after hearing another voice calling out._

_“Small Fry! Hang on, kid! I’m comin’ to get you, just hold on. It’s going to be okay!”_

_Before I could process this, I was suddenly hanging off the edge of something. A ledge of a crumbling building, it looked like. My grasp was about to give out when something – someone – caught me. Tony looked down at me. He was wearing his suit but his mask was missing, so his head was left uncovered and I could see his pained, concerned expression. I felt a surge of relief._

_“Just hang on—”_

_I grabbed tightly to his red metal hands. Tony was in the process of pulling me up to safety when out of the blue, he was dragged away by something. He fumbled for my hand but he was gone before I made it up all the way._

_“Tony!” My hand was free and my weight began to pull me down, and down…_

_I fell through the air to the unknown beneath me as Tony was pulled away against his will. I could still hear him yelling for me._

_“Sami! No!”_

I sat up straight as a stick and panted. I found myself back in my bed at the facility, safe and sound. But the horrors I’d just seen did anything but fade away. I pushed the hair out of my face and tried to get a handle on my heavy, panicked breathing. I was relieved that it all hadn’t been real, but it still seemed very much so and I couldn’t get the pictures of what I’d seen out of my mind. They were so vivid…

After about twenty minutes of lying back down and attempting to go back to sleep, I decided with finality that it was completely out of the question. Checking the time, I groaned when I saw that it was past three in the morning. I got out of my bed groggily, though I was wide awake, and figured that I should find something to help me relax.

A glass of milk seemed to be the best, most logical option at the moment. It was the only thing I could think of to make me tired. I made my way into the small kitchen area that was part of the living space I shared with Wanda and Vision when they were in town, which they weren’t at the time. I was still in a freaked-out daze when I closed the refrigerator and held up the gallon of milk in my hand, staring at the wall to my left. A shadow had come into view after I shut the fridge door.

I squinted. “…Tony?”

He didn’t seem like he wanted to be noticed because when he stepped forward, he looked very annoyed and reluctant. “Hey, Small Fry. Figured I’d catch you here.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, filling up the glass I’d set out with the white liquid. Then it hit me.

“You had it too, didn’t you?” Tony’s silence said it all to me. I shook my head. “Why does this keep happening to us?”

He pressed his lips together. “I don’t know, kid. I don’t like it.”

“It… it seemed a lot more real this time, didn’t it?” I wanted to ask him if his dream ended the same as mine, but I didn’t feel like going that far.

“Yeah…”

I had another question, but it was much more serious, so I lowered my tone and made sure to make eye contact with him, even though he was trying to avoid my gaze. “Tony, do you think that… these dreams… that they’re more like visions? Like, of the future? Or a just possible outcome? I mean, that was – _him_ , and—”

“No,” he cut me off. “It’s not going to happen. I’m not going to let it. Absolutely not.”

I understood that it was a sad thing to propose, but it wasn’t impossible. Because Tony and I were having dreams of the same thing at the same time on the same night as each other, with no explanation. I didn’t feel like I was reaching to suggest that there was meaning behind it.

But the way he reacted… he _had_ to realize I had a point. And yet he denied it completely.

I thought about it and decided I wouldn’t complain from now on whenever Tony spent an extra few hours in his lab. I understood what he was trying to prevent, perhaps more than anyone else.

When I met his eyes I felt a twinge of pain, because what I saw was exactly how I felt inside. Terrified, shaken, and yet determined. I figured he felt responsible for me, and likely even partly for this. I still felt a bit sick to my stomach from what I saw. It had disturbed me that much. My legs felt like jelly when I wondered what his own dream had involved. It couldn’t have been exactly the same as mine, but it seemed to have affected him just as much.

I thought back to the first time this had happened.

_My eyes were wide and I dashed out of my room quickly. My eyes were full of tears as I descended to Tony’s floor in a mad rush to find him. I had to see him. I had to talk to him. I needed to know he was okay._

_“Woah, kid, what’s going on?”_

_“I – I had this dream, and Th—he was there, and then you were… and I—”_

_“Wait, you did?” I looked up at him, surprised by his reaction. I wiped some of the fearful tears out of my eyes. I hated that I’d reacted so emotionally, but Tony didn’t seem too calm himself._

_“Yeah…”_

_He looked up at me. “I had it, too.”_

Now that this had happened again, he clearly felt responsible for me based on how he inhaled and suggested something I never thought I would hear from him.

“Well, what do you say to a sleepover? Just for the few hours we have left. I know you hate being sleep-deprived and you’ll probably sleep better there than in your room.”

I raised my eyebrows. His words shocked me at first, and then I realized the motivation behind them. Pepper was out of town – Tony would have to return to his bedroom and try to get some sleep… alone, as would I. While I considered this, he went on to justify the decision.

“Because you’re too traumatized to go back in there by yourself,” he told me. “I’ll do you the favor just this once. Don’t tell Pepper, though. Unless you don’t want to…”

“No, no, that sounds great.” Tony nodded and began to walk away.

“Grab a blanket and a pillow and meet me on our floor.”

I made my way in haste down to where I knew Tony and Pepper stayed. It was cool to finally see what it looked like. I had only been down there maybe once in the couple of months we’d been living at this facility. It was kinda like mine only bigger and complete with a casual, up-scale living area. I had one outside my room, too, but it was much smaller. And I preferred it that way.

“You can just make a bed anywhere…” Tony said, gesturing to the floor beside the bed he normally shared with Pepper. His room was so big that it seemed empty and cold… _lonely_. I had already gotten to work spreading out my blanket and fluffing my pillow on the cushy rug on the ground to the left of the bed.

My eyelids were starting to get heavy by this time, so I didn’t hesitate to crawl into my little sleeping area and tuck myself in.

“All set?”

I nodded with content, and Tony flipped the light-switch off and got into his own bed gingerly. And then there was silence. At least twenty seconds of it. I was just about to say something but the billionaire beat me to it.

“’Kay, this is actually even weirder than I thought. Really weird. You have my permission to leave now if you want.”

I smiled. “No, this is nice. I actually think it’s just what I needed.”

He sighed. “Fine. I’m glad I could help.”

That should have been it for the night, but after a few moments a question popped in my head and I had to ask it. Because bothering Tony soothed me. I whispered into the darkness.

“Hey, Tony?”

He sighed in exasperation. “Yeah, kid.”

“How did Pepper ever get any sleep in here with your arc reactor? ‘Cause I mean… it had to be really bright in a dark room like this and—”

“Good _night_ , Small Fry.”

I rolled my eyes and huffed, although I was still smiling. “Night, Tony.”

\---

I woke up the next morning curled up under my blanket, warm and extremely comfortable. Which was weird, but _great_ , seeing as how I’d slept on the floor for most of the night. I sat up slowly and got my bearings, noting that Tony had already gotten up and left. I didn’t mind. It was already after nine. I was glad he let me sleep in, because I had been really tired and needed the extra sleep. I was grateful for the dreamless rest.

I stood and headed back up to my room, quickly remembering that today was the day I was supposed to do _something_ with Peter. So, I threw on a presentable outfit and supposed I should run it by Tony first.

“Hey, Tony?”

“Morning, kid. Just woke up, huh? You slept a while.”

“Yeah, it was really nice. Uh, so Peter invited me out to do something today, is it okay if I go?”

He fiddled around with something. “Should be. What’s he planning?”

“Well, I don’t exactly know… he wouldn’t tell me. But I promise if he asks me to go swinging with him again that I’ll say no.”

“ _Go_ _swinging_ ,” Tony mocked humorously. “What is this, the nineteen-forties?” I snickered, knowing that my diction could have been more thought out, but he still got the idea. “Yeah, it’s fine, kid. Just let me know what you’re doing when you find out.”

“Thanks, Tony! You’re the best!”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

I smiled, and the last picture I saw before I turned off the video chat with Tony was of him looking at the camera with a corner of his mouth twinging upward slightly. I excitedly began grabbing my stuff to go. You know, I really liked how this had worked out between us. Now that we were cool, I could pretty much do whatever I wanted with Peter whenever I wanted, as long as I told Tony about it. It was nice.

I decided to text Peter about the details.

_Hey, we’re still on for today, right?_

_Yep_

_Where should I meet you?_

_Uh, at the corner before Central Park._

_Okay, and you’re still not going to tell me anything?_

_Look, I told you where it’s at, so_

_Well, I can be there by ten_

_Sounds good_

I finished up getting ready, and since I knew that it would be a pretty good drive across town to Central Park, I headed down to my car and started it up, having no time to waste.

I muted the radio and took of my sunglasses, seeing that Peter was standing across the street holding two rental bikes at his side. I parked on the side of the sidewalk and got out, eyeing him and the bicycles pointedly. And then I broke out in a smile.

“Surprise! We’re taking a bike ride through Central Park!”

It was admittedly a pleasant outcome, but he frowned before I could say anything in response.

“But what are you going to do with your car? I thought you’d take the subway here or something…”

I scoffed playfully, smirking. “And miss a chance to drive my sweet car? No way. It’s no problem. Watch.”

I stepped back over to the silver car and opened the door, speaking to the AI that ran it.

“Hey, Tom?”

“Yes, Sami?”

“Could you take the car back to the facility for me? I’d appreciate it a lot.”

“Sure thing. Anything else?”

“Oh yeah, could you send a message to Tony saying that we’ll be at Central Park for the day and that he can come by and check on us if he wants? He definitely won’t but he’ll get a kick out of how transparent I’m being, now.”

“Of course.”

“You’re great, Tom!”

“Anything for you, Sami.”

I smiled back at Peter cheekily, who inhaled.

“Yeah, that works. But what happens if the car gets pulled over, or something, and they find that there’s no one in the driver’s seat?”

I waved this off. “That won’t happen. Tom’s a great driver.”

At the same time that I was confident in this, I couldn’t help but realize how much Tony’s technological dependence had worn off on me. Any normal person would have had to leave the car right there by the curb, and here I was, watching it drive away by itself without a second thought. I mean, if he had iron suits that work with no one inside, then surely a car could drive itself, am I right? I still didn’t know what to think about this new aspect of my life.

I kinda liked it.

With that, Peter and I mounted our bikes and crossed the street, beginning the trip into the park. It felt so good to be around nature for once, feeling the sun shining on my face. I was wearing a hoodie but had to stop and tie it around my waist because it had warmed up quite a lot for a March day. I could not have asked for better weather to spend the day outside.

The two of us rode casually down the main walkways, over bridges, and even took a few paths through the trees. I was a little bit more than slightly tired when Peter piped up with an idea.

“Hey, I know what we could do if you want. There’s a—”

Suddenly I regretted taking my eyes off of the sidewalk in front of me because I didn’t give Peter any time to finish his thought before I had crashed into something hard and went flying off my bike onto the cement. He rushed off his own bicycle and was quick to reach my side.

“Oh my gosh, Sami, are you good?”

I stood up and straightened my bike tire out by kicking it, laughing the whole time. I didn’t even know what I had hit with the bicycle or how I’d fallen, but I wasn’t hurt and the situation just made me keep laughing.

“Yeah, I’m good. I guess all that time I spent riding my bike to school every day didn’t really make me any more graceful.”

He snorted playfully and tried to give me a supportive smile.

“Sorry, what was it you were saying?” I asked, attempting to get back on the previous subject.

“Oh, I was going to suggest we go canoeing. It’s just something to do. They have a place to rent them for really cheap, and you can have it for like an hour.”

I pondered this and seriously considered saying no. “Well, I don’t have much experience with canoeing, and what I do have is not great, but… I guess that would be fun. I just don’t want to end up wet today.”

Peter’s face lit up. “Got it! We won’t, I promise.”

Soon we were both sitting on a canoe in the middle of a pond, facing each other as we rowed in opposite directions. I had pretty much left the steering and balancing to Peter, while I helped with the extra rowing. I wasn’t great about things like this. I had a lot of trust in him, though. So far it had been fine. If this guy could take down bad guys and save New York from danger on a regular basis, then he could certainly keep a canoe from tipping over if he wanted to. Right?

It was just small talk between us for a while, but as it grew quiet again, I figured I should open up a new subject that I was curious to know about.

“You know, I’m sorry about what happened between you and Liz,” I told him. It seemed to strike him as sudden because his head snapped up to attention. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it… that must have been really hard. Do you ever still talk to her?”

He shook his head. “No, that would be awkward and she also cut off all communications with people at our school. I guess she just wanted to start over. I don’t really blame her. I kinda messed up everything with her.” He furrowed his brow and sent me a quizzical glance. “How do you know about that? Was it… was it in the movie, or was it that… obvious?”

I bit my lip and tried not let a smile slip. “Well, it _was_ in the movie but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t obvious. I used to spend entire lunch periods just watching you and Ned stare at her.”

“You mean back when you were hired to spy and report on me to Mr. Stark?”

I scowled. “ _Back when_ nothing. I’m still on the job. But don’t worry, I only report the good things.”

Peter snorted. “That’s nice to hear…”

“Speaking of which, where is Ned? I thought you said it would be the three of us today.”

“Oh, yeah, about that. He had to cancel. He planned to come, but… things got in the way I guess. Plans. Yeah. That’s what he said. But I think he just didn’t want to be the third wheel.”

I froze. Third wheel? Those were the friends that got in the way of a… of a… Wow. So he went there. I had to know if he meant that or not.

“What? Why would he think that? You and Ned are best friends, I couldn’t—”

“I don’t know, Sami. That’s just what he told me, he didn’t give an explanation, really…”

I narrowed my eyes at Peter suspiciously but he cleared his throat awkwardly and started to row again. There was _no_ way that Ned had actually told him that. He didn’t think about those types of things. And why would he be invited out to Central Park? Ned didn’t really go for things like this. He was more the video game or watch _Star Wars_ type. I got the strong feeling that it was never supposed to be any more than the two of us in the first place, and it was just Peter’s excuse.

But why would he do that?

Peter finally spoke up to break the silence again. “By the way, I’m sure you know about Liz’s father and all that. After all that happened… I think I’m totally over it by now. I was really put off by her whole dad thing and – you know. It all just got weird. I know I messed it all up but I don’t want to let it bother me. I couldn’t help what happened. So it hasn’t really been that hard for me, like you thought. Yeah, I’m definitely over it.”

I made a thoughtful face. I couldn’t understand why he was telling me all this. I cared, but… he was opening up about his previous crush to me. I didn’t think we were on that level, yet.

“Yeah, no, I completely get that,” I assured him, letting go over the oar for a second to push a rogue piece of my hair behind one ear. “It’s understandable after what you went through.”

“Yeah. I guess I just have a thing for girls with family issues.”

I could easily have choked on the air I was breathing. I hardly believed what I was hearing. Peter was not being subtle at all with these signals he was sending to me. He couldn’t possibly mean… Because a _thing_ could be a friendship, right? I was naïve when it came to this kind of stuff. I’d never experienced anything like this before. He definitely was not implying that he liked me. Not like that. I wasn’t cool enough for this.

I couldn’t get the phrase _girls with family issues_ out of my head, though. Because who had those worse than me?

Peter simply avoided eye contact from then on and turned all of his attention to rowing us back to the shore. I half-expected a little red crab to begin leading the musically inclined pond creatures in a round of _Kiss the Girl_. This moment really made me nostalgic, but the thought also made me _very_ uncomfortable.

And all I could manage to do during this time was ignore the fact that my cheeks were steadily growing warmer and warmer by the minute.

**about a month ago**

I was so tired and done with school that I was looking forward to a nice meal to relax and eat. However, it required some work from me if I wanted it be home cooked. So I got to it, and once it was finally finished, it was kinda late, but I was still satisfied.

Just as I sat down to begin my meal, I chose to call Tony and invite him to join me. It wasn’t often that I made dinner like this, and even less often that we had dinner together at the table.

“Hey, I made lasagna if you want to take a break and come have some. I can’t eat it all myself. And Pepper won’t be back until later, right?”

He ignored almost everything I said, except one part. “You made _lasagna_?”

I frowned. “Does that surprise you?” He started backtracking. I supposed it was the thought of a good meal being taken away.

“Uh, no. Be right there.”

Before I knew it Tony was standing at my little dining table and I was handing him a plate full of lasagna. I cut the rest of it into square-shaped servings inside the casserole dish and sat down with my own plate.

“So, when was the last time you ate? An actual meal, I mean.”

“Does the cup of coffee I had an hour ago count?”

“Nope,” I said, popping the _p_ at the end for emphasis.

“Then… probably yesterday when I ate some of your chips.”

I huffed. “It’s a good thing someone is around to feed you when Pepper isn’t here. Wait, you got into my chips?”

He chuckled in amusement and looked down at his food.

“You know, I always knew you had domestic tendencies, but I don’t think this is really your speed. It’s less of a high-schooler thing to do and more of a _mother-of-six_ thing.”

I rolled my eyes about as dramatically as I could have. “Tony, you know I was raised a lot differently in my world. I used to be really excited to cook for my family and try new things out. I sorta stopped doing it so much here.”

He quieted for a moment, and I knew what he was thinking about. We both understood that I had very different dreams and aspirations back then. I didn’t want him thinking that it was some awful thing, but I couldn’t help it. It was difficult, sometimes, to adjust. And this was my way of bringing home with me.

The room was almost uncomfortably silent as Tony ate his food, and I couldn’t think of anything to talk about, until he spoke up. He dropped his fork down on his plate with a _clang_ , with confirmed my theory that something really was bothering him.

“Is it weird for me to think that this is backwards? Because I really do. You’re making my dinners most of the time, checking that I ate, and sitting me down at the table with you which is what _I_ should be doing. It’s my job. I know, you don’t really need it but I haven’t even _tried_. I’ve just assumed that you’re okay. I don’t ever check with you about your grades or how school is going or if you’re having a _mental breakdown_ … You actually could be and I wouldn’t know it. You know that I don’t really have much experience with this, but I still feel like this is a given. And yet you never say anything. I’m failing at my job and you’re just fine with it. Which you shouldn’t be. Because thing is, you wouldn’t have to worry about anything like this back in your universe.”

I pressed my lips together and thought about the best way to respond.

“Tony, you aren’t failing at this.” I perceived that he opened his mouth to argue but I didn’t allow him the freedom to. “Just hear me out. I didn’t come here thinking you were gonna be, like, the father who sits at the head of the table, looking over my grades and threatening me to bring them up while asking how my day at school was. You have your own way of doing this and it’s not fair to compare you to the… the stereotypical version that you’re thinking of. As for checking on me… it’s not like you _never_ do that. At the same time, you have to trust that I’ll come to you whenever I need something. What you should understand is that I’m almost an adult. I can handle my own dinner and laundry and everything because I’m about to be able to move out on my own. So that’s not your responsibility. What I do need from you, though, is like emotional stuff and a person to talk to. An example to follow. And that’s what you’re doing. So… it’s all good. Really.”

Tony looked up at me for a split second and then began picking at his food somberly. I could tell that I hadn’t quite convince him, yet, so I continued.

“And you can check on me whenever you want so you’ll feel better about it, too. I won’t be mad.”

He smirked. “Okay, then speaking of which, how are your grades?”

“Great. All A’s.”

“…Good. Then just… _keep_ them up.”

“You got it.”

“And so I take it you’re not having a mental breakdown?”

“Not at the moment, but I’ll keep you posted.”

Tony squinted at me playfully, and I figured he was impressed with my sarcasm. I had learned from the best.

It didn’t take long for us to finish our filling meal, and soon there was just one piece of garlic bread left. I got up and started to get to work on the dishes. I made sure to save the extra piece of bread and lasagna for Pepper when she got back later. Tony even helped wash the dishes. I was feeling grateful and satisfied when we got done. As if on cue, my phone buzzed and I looked at it. The message was from the same unregistered number that I had received the first one from, though I had deleted it. I felt myself go pale and my hands became clammy. My heart sank in anxiety. I had to read it.

“Uh, hey Tony, I’ve got some work to do really quick. I’ll see you around.”

“Okay, maybe we can do something later, when Pepper gets back?”

“Yeah, sure.” I was too distracted to fully process what he was saying. I slipped away into my bedroom and closed the door behind me. I made myself a seat on my bed and took a deep breath, preparing myself to read this new text.

_I don’t quite have enough information to do anything yet, but you should know where you stand. I don’t want to hurt you, but once I find a solid piece of information, you will know. I know that you’re not meant to be here and I will make things right. You haven’t told Stark, have you? Good, because this doesn’t involve him. This is between me and you. You’ll slip up eventually, and when you do, I’ll be ready and waiting to make use of it._

_As long as no one finds out about this, it won’t involve them and I won’t be forced to use my methods. Because I have ways of dealing with all of your friends. But this is just between me and you. And if you keep it like that, you can just disappear without Stark ever knowing why. Wouldn’t you prefer it that way, in the end?_

My breath caught in my throat. I had to shut my phone off and close my eyes. I tried my best not to hyperventilate. I thought over what this meant. This person was clearly out to get me, and seemed to be threatening my life, but in a way that confused me. It was cryptic, that much was for sure. And they were trying to get me not to tell Tony about this, which I’d been planning to do, at some point.

A large part of me was just about to jump up and go tell Tony about the messages immediately, but the hesitant part of myself made me wait. I wanted to do the opposite of what this person was asking me to do, of course, but what they said about what would happen if I did…

Maybe it would be best if I didn’t tell him. He had enough to worry about without this problem on top of everything. Because Tony had the world to worry about, and Pepper, and the team, and the dreams… this seemed like nothing in comparison. I didn’t want him to have another reason to freak out over me.

But could I handle this? I had my power, so if I had to defend myself, I most likely could. And Peter also knew about it and was assigned to be on the look-out for me, as well. So it wasn’t entirely impossible. I was sure if Tony found out after something happened that he could save me, too. And I didn’t like the sound of these _methods_ this person was talking about….

One day I needed to become an adult and face my own problems. Even after what I said to Tony, maybe today was that day.

Besides, I had not guarantee that this was even serious. The person was waiting for me to slip up, right? So I wouldn’t. I'd apparently been keeping them from getting any information so far – all I had to do was keep it up. No big deal. All it was right now was just talk… so there was security in that.

I was right in the middle of thinking this over and trying to calm down when someone knocked on my door. I quickly grabbed my math textbook to make it look like I'd been studying.

“Come in!”

Tony was revealed to me on the other side of my door.

“Hey, you okay?”

I sniffed and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I’m just… a little stressed about getting this stuff done and finishing this studying for tomorrow.”

“Well, Pepper just got back and I thought maybe we could do a little recreation. You know, just the three of us.”

“That would be nice,” I agreed softly.

“So how about a game or something? One that’s worth considering.”

I hummed. “Actually, I have a good one in mind.”

Within fifteen minutes Pepper, Tony and I were sitting down in their living room to play a game of _Uno_. As I started to get the cards out, Pepper interjected.

“You know, Tony, I really needed to talk to you about something…”

“Is it important? Can it wait until later?”

I snapped my head up at her to gauge her reaction, and she seemed to play it off. I hoped it was nothing really important and even thought about getting on to Tony for putting it off until after the game. Pepper shook her head.

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine. It can wait.”

I could sense that something was up with her, but if she wasn't going to push any further then I wasn’t. About halfway through our second game Tony became fed up.

“So basically it turns into a game of strategy at the end. Like saying check, in chess. There’s no winning, is there?”

“There is, you just have to be patient,” I told him softly, noting how he was sitting with his chin rested on his hand propped up by the table in a way that squished his face up and showed that he was getting aggravated. Tony sighed.

He had two cards left and I was fully prepared to catch his Uno, but he tricked me and instead had to draw one from the deck. It was my turn and I smirked. I also had two cards – it felt like we’d been going back and forth between the three of us for the entire game, having two cards, then one, then two. I could play one of mine, but Tony, I noticed, was watching me like a hawk. I needed this to be over.

Luckily, Pepper had my back. She winked at me and I got ready to lay my card down. Tony eyed us suspiciously. She opened her mouth and I assumed she would find a way to distract him while I played my second to last card. But then I froze, when she yelled,

“I’m pregnant!”

Suddenly it no longer mattered that I was about to win. I didn’t even care to play my card. Tony looked over at his wife, eyes wide with shock.

“You… what? You’re not being serious; this is all to distract me… right?”

Pepper shook her head and I could see tears in her eyes. Happy tears. She was grinning.

“No, Tony, not… not this time.”

He was still at a loss for words. “You… so this is what you needed to talk to me about? You said it wasn’t important…”

“Well, I, uh, was waiting for a good moment.”

“Oh, yeah, and _this_ is the one you were waiting for?” Tony asked, though his words were anything but sharp. He just seemed like a deer in headlights. “Pep…”

I took this as my cue to leave. “Okay, uh, I’ll give you two a moment.”

\---

Peter and I filled this day with as much activity as possible. Together we got some lunch at a food cart, and then ice cream, and finally he suggested that we go to museum or something nearby, but I turned him down because I just wanted to sit on one of the benches and just enjoy it all.

There was a soft breeze blowing through my hair, and I could hear birds chirping in the distance. It was so calm and soothing that I never wanted to leave. By this time I had almost forgotten what Peter had said to me earlier. Well, not really, but I wasn’t thinking about it so hard anymore and that alone was progress.

“You know, I think this is my favorite part of New York because it reminds the most of… home.”

He nodded as we sat beside each other on the bench. “If you had to choose, I’m guessing you would pick a different place to live, huh?”

“Well, yeah. It’s just so weird here. It’s really _fast_. I like a slower life than this. But I’m still glad I came here because I like how it is with Tony and I wouldn’t have met… you know, you. I feel like even if we didn’t have so much in common and we were just normal, I’d still want to be friends with you. Is that weird? That sounds really weird. I’m sorry….”

“No, I totally agree. You’re just cool to hang out with. And I’m curious, when you move out, would you stay here close to Tony or would you want to move somewhere else, like, closer to home?”

I stuck my tongue out in thought. “Hmm, I guess I’d want to stay close to Tony just in case anything ever happened or if he needed me. Because that _could_ happen. But the best of both worlds would be if he followed through on what he keeps saying about buying Pepper a farm. That would be the coolest, but I don’t see it actually happening.”

Peter laughed. “You know, for some reason, me neither.”

I looked up after a moment of silence, noticing that the sun had gone behind the clouds a bit. I saw that a few gray ones had rolled in.

“Huh, those came fast. It was clear just a second ago.”

He didn’t seem to acknowledge my statement and was instead a bit distracted. Peter appeared to have something on his mind.

“You know, Sami, I’ve been trying to ask you something all day and I don’t exactly know how, but here goes. I—”

“Hold that thought,” I said urgently. “We have to get out of here, quick. I guess I _am_ going to end up wet today. It’s already raining!”

He stood quickly, looking a little flustered, but I didn’t hesitate to send a message to my car, telling Tom to bring it back to the park as soon as possible, and since it was starting to sprinkle faster, I motioned for Peter to follow me and began to rush to the entrance of the park. I regretted the fact that we were so far into it. I untied my hoodie from around my waist and attempted to cover my head with it, but it was beginning to be futile since it was almost drizzling by now.

Suddenly Peter stopped me in my tracks as we neared the exit, gesturing to a path in the woods. I ceased my splashing through puddles on the sidewalk to look at him.

“I know a shortcut we can take,” he proposed. I shrugged.

“What does it matter if my car’s thirty minutes away? Even if Tom speeds, with traffic and everything…” I trailed off and made a split-second decision to throw off my soaked hoodie. “I don’t even care anymore.”

Peter smiled at me and said nothing more, as he clearly agreed. But he kept smiling at me, which merited my questioning.

“What?”

He rubbed his neck. “Uh, nothing.”

I turned my head away and watched the park-goers rush past us to get dry, which was pretty useless. The only shelters nearby were food cart umbrellas and restrooms. I stuck my hands out and let the raindrops fall on them. I found myself grinning happily. Soon we were both dripping in the constant rainfall. The wind blew so hard that the rain was hitting us almost sideways. Thunder rolled in the distance but I just smiled happily.

“Do you actually… like this?” Peter asked, sounding perplexed.

“What’s not to like? I love getting wet, and it was pretty hot, anyways.”

“But… we’re going to get _soaked_ …”

I smirked. “There’s no use worrying about it now. It’s either we get soaked right here or soaked on the curb waiting for Tom.”

I tried uselessly to wipe the water out of eyes as it continued to drip down my nose, and then laughed, as Peter was watching me in amusement.

“I know, I’m different than most girls…”

“That’s totally a good thing,” he assured me swiftly. I looked down sheepishly and couldn’t get past the fact that all I could think about was the scene in the rain from _Pride_ _and_ _Prejudice_.

I had been able to relate my life to a romantic scene two times today. Which was two times too many for my level of comfort.

I figured we should start making our way out of the park, though, and by the time we got there we only had to wait outside for about five minutes before my car pulled up. I hurried to get inside and didn’t care that I was dripping all over the seat. I smoothed my hair out of my face. Peter was quick to get into the passenger seat.

“Woah, Tom, you must have really been speeding.”

“Only fifteen miles over the speed limit,” the AI said in a reassuring way that directly contradicted what it was telling me. “You said to come as soon as possible.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t get pulled over or anything…”

“Don’t worry, I calculated it so I was not speeding in the presence of any police cars. Back to the facility, then?”

Sometimes I really appreciated Tom. “Yeah, but I’ll drive, thanks.”

I turned on the heater and just like that Peter and I headed away from Central Park.

“I can drop you off at your apartment, if you want,” I told him, trying to dry off and get warm.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” he said rather absentmindedly. I observed this and remembered that he was trying to ask me something before we’d been interrupted by the weather.

“Oh, so what was it you were about to ask me before? Sorry for interrupting, by the way.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Uh… right. So, I wanted to ask you something that I’ve been thinking about… I don’t even know what you’re going to think and it’s okay if you say no, but… um, you know senior prom’s coming up next month, and I don’t have a date. I don’t even know if you were planning to go but, I mean, we could…”

I raised my eyebrows and my heart rate picked up. I could hardly focus on the road as it rained.

“Are you… you mean you want to…?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to if you’d rather not go, but if you don’t then I probably won’t either, so—”

“Sure,” I practically choked. I used one hand to push a strand of wet hair out of my face. “No, I would like to. I’ve never been to prom before and I don’t really know how to – but I’m sure it would be fun. Yeah. That’d be nice.”

Peter was absolutely beaming at me. His white smile could have blinded me. I grinned back, supposing that his leap of courage had paid off for him.

“Great,” he breathed. “I’m… that’s really great.”

\---

I got to the facility after dropping Peter off at his place and rushed to my room. I passed Tony’s lab on the way, which didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Hey, kid, have fun?” He actually looked up from his work, for once.

“Uh, yeah, I’ll tell you about it later.”

I didn’t give him time to protest before I was off to my living space. I changed out of my damp clothes and flopped down on my bed, trying to process what had just happened. My stomach was so full of butterflies that it felt like it could easily fly away. After about ten minutes of thinking about it and smiling contentedly, I decided that I needed to tell someone about it. This was news to share.

“Hey, FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Sami?”

“What floor is Pepper on?”

“She is currently on the main floor reading over some paperwork for Mr. Stark.”

“Is anyone else in there with her?”

“No, she is alone.”

“Perfect.”

I descended the staircase to the main floor for fear of Tony finding out. I really didn’t want him to know about this, yet, and figured _manual_ was the best course of action. He could easily have bugged the elevator to notify him whenever I used it. Maybe I was paranoid about it, but I was just trying to play it safe.

“Hey, Pepper, uh, what’s up?”

“Not much, just some work…” she said without looking up. When she finally did, her eyes widened. “Oh gosh, Sami, you look like you’ve either seen a ghost or gotten off the fastest rollercoaster ever.”

“Really? Because I feel like both just happened.”

She smirked. “Why don’t you sit down?” Pepper suggested, gesturing me to the couch across from where she sat. I did as she said and inhaled slowly, preparing myself to come out with it. It still felt very new, and nerve-wracking, and exciting…

“Wait, this is about a boy, isn’t it?”

I smiled from ear to ear. I knew I had chosen to talk to Pepper about this for a good reason. She was still on top of her game for being pregnant, even though her bump was only barely visible.

“Yeah, it is,” I replied at last. “Peter, actually.” She seemed just as giddy as I felt.

“I knew you liked him. You wouldn’t have disobeyed what Tony asked you to do for someone who was just a friend.”

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “Oh, you know about that?”

“Of course I do. It was _so_ cute. Now go on, what happened?”

“Well… he asked me to prom today at the park. He also said he had a _thing_ for me while we were canoeing.”

Pepper was elated. “Really? He’s _so_ into you, then. If he brought it up twice, then it’s for sure. I wish Tony had been that straightforward about it with _me_ …”

“It wouldn’t have made such good movies then…” I muttered, but she didn’t seem to hear it.

“So? What did he say specifically?”

“Well, he tried to ask the first time but I cut him off because it was starting to rain.”

“Wait, wait, you two got caught in the rain?” Pepper smiled and clasped her hands under her chin. She looked like the personification of heart-eyes. “ _Romantic_.”

I smirked. “Yeah, it was pretty great. I’m still a little soggy, but it was fun. Anyways, he didn’t bring it up again until we got into the car. He said he wouldn’t go if I didn’t. And then when I said yes, he said it would be great.”

She clicked her tongue. “I knew I liked Peter. You should invite him over for dinner sometime.”

I shifted my feet around and tried to cool my cheeks down. “So I’ve been told.”

“So? You’re going to go with him? When is it?”

I inhaled slowly. “That’s the thing. It’s next month, and I’m kinda freaking out. I’ve never done anything like this before, and I don’t really know how… Like, I don’t know what I would wear, or anything like that…”

Pepper waved this off. “Oh, that can be fixed, easy. It looks like we need to go shopping.”

I grinned at her. “Thanks, Pepper.”

“It’s no problem—”

“No, really,” I continued. “For everything. This whole time you’ve been great about all this. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here. I definitely couldn’t go to Tony about this kind of thing, not the same way. And ever since I came here, you’ve just been cool about everything. Tony made the decision without really consulting you first, but you just went with it. You’ve actually been really helpful to me. I know that this is pretty dysfunctional, but having you here makes it feel more like a home. So thanks.”

She smiled at me softly. “Well, I knew that you had to be special in the first place, before I even met you, because Tony wouldn’t _adopt_ just anyone.”

After I heard this, a warm feeling spread through my body. Had I mentioned that I loved how my life was turning out here? Just seeing the way Pepper’s eyes sparkled in excitement when she mentioned _shopping_ made me feel overwhelming relief about something I’d been dreading. She really was great. Now I felt confident that it would be okay.

No, it would be great.

Then I remembered something. “How am I going to tell Tony about this? What’s he going to think?”

“Yeah, what _is_ Tony going to think? Gosh, I can’t imagine. Honestly.”

I looked up quickly to see the man in question taking his time to reach the floor from the swirling staircase. Pepper and I both clamped our mouths shut as he made his way down nonchalantly. Then I decided to speak up.

“How much did you hear?”

“The whole thing,” he replied as if it was no big deal. I grew indignant but he didn’t let me get a word in edgewise.

“You know, you’re not the only one who can find out where people are in here. Having secret conversations is virtually impossible in this facility.”

“Yeah, with _you_ around…” I mumbled irritably. “Eavesdropping is rude, Tony.”

“That’s never stopped _you_ , has it? And what did you expect me to do, after you came back sopping wet and wouldn’t tell me anything?”

I guessed he had a point, but I pouted and didn’t reply. So Pepper cut in for me.

“Tony, she just needed some girl time. To talk. That’s all. Anyway, now that you’ve so _tactfully_ barged in on our conversation, what do you think?”

I winced, waiting in anticipation of his answer. I hadn’t planned on breaking it to him like this – I actually hadn’t thought about it all that much, yet. But now his reaction was inevitable. I just hoped he would be gentle. Pepper would probably have to be my buffer.

“Well, I’m gonna need to have a talk with the kid.”

I deflated and any hope of a positive reaction seemed to fly out of the window. Pepper took this and turned into something humorous, however.

“What, and give him a lesson about _tact_ with women? I’d like to hear how that goes. You’re not exactly the most qualified person to do that.”

“No, I’m just going to make sure he does it right,” Tony clarified. “I don’t want him to mess it up. I heard about how his last prom went – that was a disaster. If this is Sami’s first prom ever, then I want to make sure Pete gives her a fun night.”

My eyes widened with surprise and gladness. I was admittedly perplexed, so I sent him a look that silently asked if he was being serious or not and if I really just heard that. Tony nodded slightly and I jumped out of my seat. Finally the excitement was starting to set in.

“Thanks, Tony!”

Pepper bit her lip in satisfaction as I approached her husband, who was smirking at me.

“What did you think? That I wouldn’t let you two go?” I shrugged and he shook his head. “I’ve been waiting on this for a while, now. And I’m not _that_ uncool.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth slowly. “Well, you learn something new every day.”


	7. Chapter 7

I was sitting in class, scribbling down notes as fast as possible, trying to absorb this anatomy class so that I could do well on the project coming up. It was a normal practice for me, and anyone who knew me would have agreed that I was too uptight about school, but you know… it worked for me. And it also helped me deal with all the anxiety that I felt about school, knowing that I tried my best on everything. So call me crazy, but you couldn’t call me lazy. And that rhymes so it’s obviously true.

In this class, Peter sat in front of me and to my right. I had started to suspect that we were no longer in the same subjects just because of pure luck by now.

I took a small break from my furious note taking to read the board and study the diagram that the teacher was holding up. Yet as I tried to focus my attention, something caught the corner of my eye.

It was Peter, chewing on the end of his pencil and making dents in the metal tip below the eraser. I grimaced. Gross. But no… the pencil… it was purplish-blue with galaxies on it. It looked all too familiar to me and I could instantly place why.

It was mine. I watched in disgust as he pulled the chewed-up end out of his mouth and began writing with it again. Oh, I was going to kill him. I didn’t like being petty, really, but I was. Especially about _these_ kinds of things.

It reminded me of something, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was. However, anger started to boil within me at the thought of losing my favorite pencil and not realizing what had happened to it. And how did Peter end up with it, anyway?

I needed to talk to him about this.

Once class ended, I approached Peter’s back as he left the room and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Peter,” I said to get his attention. He turned to look at me.

“Yeah?”

“Um, that… that pencil you were using,” I began. “I think it’s mine.”

“Oh, this one?” Peter didn’t have much trouble in pulling it out of his pencil case. I looked at it and nodded.

“That’s my space pencil! My favorite!”

He seemed sheepish, like he was guilty. I caught on to this and cocked my head at him.

“How did you get it, anyway?” He guided me over to the side near the lockers, out of the path of students we’d been standing in.

“Uh, well, I took it. A long time ago, maybe last school year? It was when you weren’t talking to me and I took it so you might have a reason to talk to me, when you came to get your pencil. But that backfired because you didn’t even notice it was gone, and I didn’t want to tell you about it, so I just… kept it. I’m sorry, it was a stupid idea—”

I felt a rush of something that hit me and the world became a temporary blur. I stumbled backwards and Peter was swift to catch my elbow and help me steady myself.

“Woah, Sami, are you okay?”

I looked up at him with wide eyes. I had to work to get my thoughts straight. I still didn’t know what happened, exactly, but I _did_ know what I had realized.

“Your eyes just, like, flashed that golden color…” Peter remarked, concerned. I struggled to believe it.

“Peter… this is my story. What I wrote. It just happened. _Exactly_ what happened in my story…”

“What are you saying?” he asked quickly. “What story?”

I gnawed on my lip in disbelief. “The one I had to write for my creative writing class. I read it out loud yesterday for our meeting. I didn’t think it would actually ever happen, though…”

“How is that possible? Don’t you have to believe it for it to happen?”

I stuttered to reply because I didn’t know for sure. “I—I guess it’s because when I write, I try to think of people I know to base my characters on so I can get a clear picture of it in my head. But… I did this over a year ago. There’s no way that—”

Peter was at a loss for comprehending this information I’d given him, and I had to figure out why this was happening. I thought back to the events of yesterday’s club meeting.

_I finished reading the last word of my short story and looked up to gauge the reaction of the other club members. They all clapped slightly, and the leader praised me._

_“Wow, that was really well-written, Sami! I could get a really clear picture of what was happening. That was a good example of manipulating emotions. You turned a really mundane event into something with meaning behind it. Let me guess, the main character was based on you?”_

_I smirked a little and nodded. “Yeah. I just thought it was a cute idea for a little story that started off with her really angry and then turned sweet at the end.”_

_“Well, it was an excellent example of a thought-out short story. Did you base your other character, Jack, on anyone else you know?”_

_I shifted around. “Um, no, not really…”_

_I said this knowing full and well that I pictured Peter as the guy in this story, but I didn’t want to admit it to the class. It was dumb and I had orders to make sure no one knew that Peter and I were friends._

_“Hmm, well your story fits the requirements for the prompt. It’s very realistic, Sami. I could see that actually happening, great job. Anyone else?”_

I endeavored to get my breathing back into rhythm as Peter stared at me and tried to lighten the subject.

“Well, you can have your pencil back now, if you want.”

He handed it to me and I shook my head, swallowing. “No, thanks. You… um, you can keep it.”

\---

**a few nights later**

“Alright, I invited you over because when prom comes, it _can’t_ be your first time taking her out, you know, on a date. So tonight we’re practicing.”

Peter stammered. “All due respect, sir, but I haven’t even seen Sami tonight, and why are you talking to me in here? Aren’t we supposed to have dinner?”

“Yes, and I called you in here to give you a few pointers. You know, for romancing her.”

His eyes widened. “Um, I don’t know about—”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that hard. And wouldn’t you like to know my secrets? I’ve clearly done pretty well at this, right? This is rare stuff, right here. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I’d say.” Tony was looking at him in such a suggestive way that Peter had no choice but to take his word for it.

He nodded, changing his mind and deciding to go with this, even though he was already uneasy about it. “Okay, okay, so what do I need to do?”

“Well, first, you gotta know… flirting, it’s all about the eyes. For example, they like it when they think you’re checking them out. Like this.” Tony pretended that a girl was next to him and looked at her, squinting his eyes slightly and looking her form up and down. Peter’s mouth gaped and he struggled to reply.

“Okay, but are you _sure_ Sami would like that?”

“Positive. They love to feel like you noticed that they look good. And as far as conversation goes, school is off the table. You see her every day at school, so find something else to talk about. And besides that, it’s lame and boring. Got it?”

“Mmhmm,” Peter replied thoughtfully, still not sure about any of this. It felt like a prank.

“Girls also like hard-to-get. Acting like you don’t care about things really makes them mad but it also makes them want to talk to you more. So use that. They like talking about themselves, so make sure when she asks you a question to ask her the same one. That’s why they ask things – because they want you to ask them the same question.”

He raised his eyebrows at Tony who appeared smug. “Okay… is that it?”

“One more thing. You also gotta act mature. Girls like when guys are serious and act their age. It’s a known fact that girls mature faster so when they see a guy being mature, they’re automatically impressed.”

“But… Mr. Stark… you keep saying _most girls_ … and Sami’s not really _like_ most girls,” protested Peter gently. “Are you sure she’ll like this?”

“Why _wouldn’t_ she like this?” Tony snapped back, growing irritated with the teenager’s complaints.

Peter cocked his head at him. “And did you really _do_ all this stuff? How can you be sure it works?”

“Trust me, it does,” Tony said quickly. “What problem could you possibly have with my advice?”

“Well… shouldn’t I just… be myself?”

“Not on the first date, kid. Being yourself is more for marriage.”

Peter was flabbergasted. “M—marriage? I, uh…”

Tony smirked, as if enjoying this, and put his arm around the high school student. “Don’t worry, kid. You’ll do great.”

\---

**a couple weeks later**

Peter, Ned, and I were sitting in a small diner in Manhattan that was so dead that the lone employee was sitting in the back, playing on his phone, while the three of us had been the only customers I’d seen so far. The food was good, though. It was a quiet night and I enjoyed listening to Ned and Peter’s banter when I wasn’t interjecting with my own amusing, sarcastic thoughts. At least they were to me.

It didn’t take long for Peter to decide he was still hungry, which was typical for him with his ultra-fast metabolism, so he went to stand back up at the counter and order something else. I took this break in conversation to excuse myself and head to the restroom. Hey, I’d been holding it for a long time.

I wasn’t expecting to have anything but a normal evening that night, which is why I was confused when I returned to see that Peter was questioning his friend with a serious look on his face.

“Are you kidding me? I get up for one second and—”

“Hey, what was I supposed to do, lie?”

Peter stared at him. “… _Yes_!”

“Hold on, what happened?” I cut in without hesitation as my heart rate began to pick up.

“A strange guy just came in and walked up to Ned to ask if he has a friend named Sami. So of course he told him yes, and that you were in the bathroom.”

I took a step back in fear. “W—what? What… what did he look like?”

Ned shrugged. “I don’t know, he was kinda tall but he didn’t really let me see his face that much.”

“Where did he go?”

“He just left,” he replied. “But not before asking about Peter. He was all like, “You’re not Spider-Man, are you?” So I got offended, because, I definitely _could_ be. And then he just smiled in a really creepy way.”

I wanted to smirk at him but I couldn’t because I was growing way too worried about this. Then Peter added,

“And that’s when I came over, because I saw that he came in and noticed he was looking at me like… like he _knew_.”

I took a shaky breath. “Could we… step outside please?”

“Yeah, stay here, Ned. Don’t talk to anyone.”

“I don’t understand, I didn’t mean to…” Peter’s eyes cut into him so hard that Ned stopped protesting. “Yeah, sorry, Peter.”

“It’s fine. We’ll be right back.”

Peter led me out in the chilly night, and I was hit by the sound of cars rushing by and the shine of headlights passing on the street to my right. I crossed my arms and tried to find some solace in myself.

“Do you think he’s gone?” I asked nervously.

“If he’s not, I’ll handle it,” he told me, and I immediately remembered that I was in the company of Spider-Man, who had really changed in regard to the kid from Queens I’d seen in the movies. It was for the better, I thought. Now he had a sense of purpose and maturity.

“Could this guy be… you know…?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “It sounds like him. The person told me that they didn’t have enough information. Maybe this is their way of trying to get more.”

“Wait, you got more texts from him? Sami, this isn’t good. Tell me Mr. Stark knows about this. Please.”

I sighed. “No, he doesn’t, and I’ve decided that I’m keeping it that way. He doesn’t need another problem to worry over. I know what he’s been going through, and now he has a baby on the way to think about. I can’t put another issue on him to take care of for me. What am I supposed to tell him, anyway?”

“I don’t know, but… this guy does not sound good.”

“Exactly,” I pointed at him, as Peter had made my point for me. “It doesn’t _sound_ good. That’s all I have to go on. I don’t have a face, a name, an organization, a location, nothing. Not even a phone number. I think this guy is too smart to give Tony a way to find him based on that alone. So until something happens and I can get some information about what he’s trying to do, there’s nothing that even Tony could help me with, except wasting time and energy freaking out about it.”

Peter didn’t seem persuaded to my perspective, yet, so I went on.

“Look, be honest. Would _you_ tell him about this? We’re about to graduate, Peter. Pretty soon I’m gonna have to solve my own problems.”

He faltered to give me an answer. “Okay, so maybe you have a point, but I still feel like if you weren’t friends with me then you would already have told Mr. Stark.”

I narrowed my eyes at him teasingly. “Oh, yeah? You’re probably right, actually. But I don’t see that as a problem. It saves Tony a little concern.”

“Sami, you know he only wants to help you…”

“That’s the main problem. He _does_ want to help. Too much. He’ll take over and then I’ll be on his constant watch. He already has anxiety and heart problems and I don’t want to be another reason on his list to have more. I just think I should wait until I get some more proof. Come on, Peter. You gotta be on my side about this.”

“I just… I don’t want anything to happen. To… to you.”

I tried to swallow my fear and plaster on a brave smile. “You know what? Me neither. I’m trying not to worry about it, myself. I promise I won’t let it get too far. As soon as Tony needs to know, I’ll tell him. And if I don’t, you have my permission to. Okay?”

Peter sighed. “Fine. You know, you’re really stubborn, just like me. No wonder Mr. Stark didn’t want us to be friends at first.”

I found myself finally able to laugh. I still felt terrified of what be in store for me, but also hopeful at the time. Because with these guys around me, I knew I’d get through it.

We finally turned around and headed back into the warm restaurant just to find Ned sitting quietly at the table with an empty plate and a fake innocent expression. Peter raised his arms just to slap them back down on his legs in frustration.

“Dude! That was my dessert!”

“Well, the guy brought it but you weren’t here to eat it and it was just _staring_ at me.” Peter made sounds of protest and I just snickered at them. I guessed I would be buying another dessert for the poor, constantly starving guy.

\---

**back at the dinner scene at the facility**

I did as I was told and got ready for a fancy dinner hastily, though confused. I ended up wearing a simple flowery dress and surprised myself by even putting on a little make-up, which I hardly ever wore. Once I was finished, Pepper pulled me aside.

“Okay, what’s going on? Why do I have to get all dressed up?”

“Peter’s coming over for dinner. I – well, Tony had a hand in it, too, but it was mostly me – planned a cute little dinner for you two.”

I raised my eyebrows, starting to get excited. “Really? Just for us?”

She nodded happily. “Yeah, and I think he’s giving Peter some advice for the night right now. He expected me to give you some, too. So, I guess it’s just that I think you should be yourself. If he doesn’t like you for that then he doesn’t really like you, and he doesn’t deserve you.”

I blushed as Pepper hugged me and sent me out to the dinner. I didn’t feel like Peter and I really needed something so fancy and serious – I’d much rather just hang out with him as friends. This whole scenario made me extremely uncomfortable and nervous.

It absolutely felt like Tony and Pepper were trying to force us together. So I’d suffer through this night, because who knew, it could have turned out well, but I would get them back for this. One day, one sweet day…

Pepper gestured me into the dining room on their floor to see Tony behind a two-person table, standing with his hands clasped. He wore a nice dress shirt, tie, and vest, as well as a smug look.

“Hey, Tony.”

His wife left the room quietly as he stepped forward to pull out my chair for me.

“Miss,” he said in an even smugger tone than his smile. I stuck my tongue out at him playfully before taking my seat. And then, as if timed just perfectly, Peter stepped into the room out of the elevator and looked just as confused and out of place as I was. Tony, however, let him pull his own chair, smirking at me the whole time. I watched him with wide, curious eyes as he grabbed two menus and handed them to us.

“Your server will be right with you.”

As soon as Tony exited the dark room, I met Peter’s eyes over the candle and vase of flowers on our table that had been covered with a white tablecloth.

“Do you know what’s going on? This feels like _The Parent Trap_ , only… backwards.”

He shrugged and looked down at his menu. “Mr. Stark said that prom shouldn’t be our first time… you know. But this is a little too fancy, for me. I mean, I don’t really care.”

I pursed my lips thoughtfully and read my own menu, seeing that there was only one option. We would be having ravioli with a red sauce for our main course and bread for an appetizer. I smirked. I was beginning to be won over by how nice this all seemed.

When I lifted my head back up, I was still smiling a bit but the expression was wiped off my face when I noticed the weird one Peter was looking at me with.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

He appeared confused and kept doing it. “Like what?”

“You’re like… squinting at me. Do I… look okay?”

“Oh, yeah, you look great.” Peter cleared his throat and I was about to ask more when I was interrupted by someone arriving at our table.

“Wanda?” I asked, grinning at our server.

“Hi Sami, and Peter,” she greeted us. I was intrigued that Tony and Pepper had recruited her for this. “I’ll be your server this evening. Can I get you something to drink?”

We both nodded and Wanda proceeded to grab each of our clear glasses and fill them with something out of a glass bottle. I opened my mouth to protest but she cut me off before I could.

“Don’t worry, it’s just sparkling grape juice.”

I cocked an eyebrow humorously. Of course it was grape juice. I figured it was Tony’s idea, but I didn’t ask. I just rolled my eyes so hard that it made her laugh.

“I’ll be right back with your appetizer.”

It was quiet between us for a moment, until I decided to start up a conversation.

“Well, this is really nice,” I began. “I can’t remember the last time I was at such a fancy dinner.”

“It doesn’t really matter to me how fancy it is as long as the food’s good,” Peter told me. I frowned at him.

“Yeah, but this is really nice of them, though.” I took a sip of my fizzy drink. “Don’t you think? I mean, it’s definitely over the top, but you can tell that a lot of thought went into it. I was wondering why they were being so secretive earlier…”

“You’re right,” Peter finally agreed, and I couldn’t get past how weird his reactions seemed.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you, how did you do on that history assignment? Your paper looked pretty good to me, I only had to fix a couple things.”

“Uh, let’s not talk about that right now. Just because we see each other at school most of the time. We should… we should talk about something besides that tonight.”

I inhaled and nodded. “Okay… you pick, then. I’m terrible at choosing dinner conversation subjects.”

“No, you’re not, I just…” We were cut off when Wanda came up with a plate of garlic bread and announced that our meal would be up in a minute. Peter and I both smiled and thanked her, then returned to our conversation.

“How, um… how was your day?”

I shrugged. “It was good. I read a little, tried to eavesdrop on what Tony and Pepper were doing… that’s about it, really. Oh by the way, did you see that meme I sent you this morning? I thought you’d appreciate it.”

I said this referring to the string of memes and GIF’s that made up my recent texts with Peter. He inhaled and wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“I actually didn’t. You know, since we’re about to graduate, I’ve been thinking… I need to focus on…”

“Adult stuff?” I supplied grimly. He stuttered to answer but I didn’t make him. “No, I get it. That’s fine.”

Peter kept confusing me with what he kept saying. It wasn’t like him, at all, to say things like this. I was sure he didn’t mean anything by them, but what got me the most was that he didn’t even sound convinced of his owns words.

I looked at him skeptically. I was getting angry with all of this aloofness. “Are you… are you upset with me, or something? You’re acting weird. Pretty jerky if I’m honest. Did I do something, or did something happen?”

“No, I—”

Peter didn’t get a complete chance to answer before my attention was stolen by a figure arriving at our table. I looked up and my eyes lit up.

“Good evening, I am here to serve your dinners.”

I smiled. “Hey, Vision. Good to see you.” I noticed how he held two plates and had an apron covering his waist.

He smiled slightly back at me as he placed the dishes down, one in front of both of us. We took them gratefully and Vision nodded curtly. I couldn’t get over how much he looked and acted like a fancy waiter. And it wasn’t just the human skin tone.

“Is there anything else I can get for you two?”

I pursed my lips. “Nope. But you, all four of you, can submit to questioning when we get finished.”

Vision smirked and took his leave from us without another word. I began on my meal, which was delicious, and Peter had seemed to give up what he had been saying. So I brought the conversation back to that.

“Hey, so I gotta know. Is this about the advice that Tony gave you?”

His brown eyes snapped up at me and shined in the candlelight. I knew immediately that I had guessed correctly, so I cut him off before he replied.

“I can’t believe he did that to you… what did he say? That you had to change a lot of things?”

Peter finally opened up about it. “Yeah, kinda. I didn’t think it was the best advice, at first, but he sounded so sure…”

I rolled my eyes. “Peter, you can’t listen to that. You are _so_ his son, and I guess he was just trying to help you, but… you can tell none of this has really worked all that well.”

“It’s been _terrible_ ,” he added somberly. I sighed.

“So what did he say?”

“Uh, that girls like guys who are neutral, like they don’t care about stuff. He said that it drives them crazy, but keeps them… interested, I guess.”

I scoffed. “Wrong. _Bro_. I hate when guys don’t care. I’d rather disagree with you than to think you don’t have an opinion at all. I like it when people _care_.”

“It’s a good thing that wasn’t real, then…”

I snickered. “Okay, next?”

“Well, he also said I have to know when you ask something, you want to be asked the same thing.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Huh, that may be slightly true, unless I ask if you, like, had a traumatic childhood, or something. What I _don’t_ want to hear back is, “no, did you?””

Peter actually smiled at this. “Hey, I’m not _that_ clueless.”

“Anything else I should know about?”

“He _did_ tell me not to talk about school with you whatsoever. That’s why I didn’t answer about my essay. I got a hundred-percent, by the way.”

I felt relieved now he was telling me all this, because I hated the feeling of not knowing why he was acting so weird. And a lot of the stuff he’d said had come across really rude, so I was glad to know it wasn’t from him.

“Wait, did he tell you to act mature and serious, too? Is that why you said you didn’t look at the meme?”

“Yeah, I hated that one the most, probably. Because I love memes, and _Vines_ , and GIF’s. The ones you’ve been sending me are really great.”

I quickly grinned. “Good. Because this wouldn’t have been a good night for either of us, especially you, if you really didn’t like them.”

We both laughed, even though I was dead serious, and it felt really nice. I liked talking to him like this, not caring about anything except being ourselves. So I decided to tell him that.

“Hey, so I think you should know that… sure, Tony was trying to help you out, but he didn’t end up with Pepper because he took his own advice. He just got lucky that Pepper is great and loves him for who he is. He didn’t have to change for that, and… neither do you. Actually, Pepper gave me some advice, and it was to be myself. So that should be yours, too. You don’t have to, like, _impress_ me, or anything. You’ve done pretty well, so far.”

I was happy that I couldn’t really tell if he was blushing in the dimly lit area, because it meant that he couldn’t tell that I was, either.

“Thanks, Sami. That’s good to hear.”

I blew slowly out of my mouth. “I guess I really need to have a talk with Tony after this.”

\---

“Gosh, I can’t believe this is where I’m at, now. Planning out a nice dinner for you and the kid… what have I turned into? Some kind of match-maker with nothing better to do?”

I snorted in both amusement and displeasure but didn’t get the opportunity to share my opinion.

“Don’t answer that,” he told me. “I _absolutely_ am.”

I huffed. I knew that Peter was busy talking to Wanda and Vision, so now was my only shot to have an uninterrupted conversation with Tony.

“Hey, so we need to talk.” He cocked an eyebrow at me in such a questioning way that it made me want to shut up, but I forced myself to keep going. “I know you gave Peter this advice, but you should know that it didn’t work. Like at all.”

He was incredulous. “Oh, yeah? No really, I’m glad you came to that conclusion. How in the world did you get there?”

“Well, he was just acting like a… a jerk. It didn’t seem like _him_ , and I noticed. Big time. And so I figured that since Pepper gave me my own advice, that you must have given him some. And I just wanted to say… I know you meant well for us, so I’m not upset. Honestly. We had a great night.”

“Then you lost me. What exactly are you gettin’ at?” he interjected, sounding slightly impatient and lost. I smirked and lowered my tone.

“It’s that Peter really wants to be like you. You know, he didn’t think your advice would work, but he did it. All of it. Just because you told him to. He really respects you, Tony. Dude, the other day he took a _Buzzfeed_ quiz to tell which Avenger he would be, and he called me just to say how excited he was that he got _you_. So, you should be proud. And also careful about what you tell him, because he’ll believe it.”

Tony stared at me with realization and disbelief dawning in his eyes. They flicked from me over to where Peter was talking with Vision and Wanda. There was a moment of contemplation before he shook his head and cleared his throat.

“Kid really needs to find a better role-model…” he murmured, and I looked up at him, smiling.

“Well, whether Peter does or not, you’re about to have someone _else_ who has no other option.”

I said this referring to the growing bump on his wife’s stomach, and Tony obviously didn’t miss a beat. He rubbed his forehead.

“Yeah, don’t remind me. I’m gonna have to start straightening up my actions, soon, but I’m _trying_ to savor the time I have left.”

\---

**about a week later**

I walked into Tony’s lab with a fluffy throw blanket draped around my shoulders and wrapped around my upper body as I held it. He looked up and raised his eyebrows at me.

“How can you be cold in here?”

I shrugged and pulled the blanket around myself tighter. “I don’t know, I’ve been freezing, like, all afternoon.”

“Then why don’t you just turn the air up?” he asked as if it was the obvious, logical thing to do. Which it probably was.

“Because I want to get snuggly.”

Tony rolled his eyes and went back to whatever he was doing with the holographic screens in front of him. It all seemed like Chinese to me. He gave it a minute, and then he spoke.

“Is there a _reason_ you came down here, or is it just to stare at me?”

“Well, I’m just seeing what’s up.”

“Right. You’re snooping.”

“Hey, at least I’m not denying it.”

He exhaled. I figured something was bothering him. “Yeah, well there’s nothing to see here, kid. Might as well go snoop on someone else’s business. At this rate, _Happy_ would enjoy it more than I am right now.”

I pouted. “Oh, come on. I’m bored, and you gotta admit… you’re _interesting_. And I was also curious… about the baby. Do you guys have any names picked out, yet?”

“Why? Are you offering your expert assistance with naming? Your stuffed panda’s name is… _Pandy_ , right? Oh, yeah. So creative. You should start charging for your service.”

I crossed my arms and muttered, “It’s a pillow…”

“Like _that_ makes it any better.”

“Please answer my question! I just wanna know.”

Tony sighed. “Not officially. We’re still considering them. Pepper has a few she likes, but the trick is to get _me_ sold on one.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, really? You never struck me as being the picky one.”

“Well, let me strike you again.”

He was clearly running out of sarcastic jokes about phrases, because that one was _rough_. It barely flew. I licked my lips slowly and exhaled out of my nose.

“Just give me _one_. I’m really curious. That’s all. I won’t judge it.”

“Mm, yeah, right. As soon as it comes out of my mouth I know exactly what you’ll do. You’ll be all like, oh, _that’s_ the name you picked? _Interesting_. And then I’ll start to question all of my life decisions.”

I started to laugh. “Tony, I promise, this time I won’t—”

I was prevented from completing my sentence when Tony’s personal artificial intelligence began to speak to him, and I stopped to listen.

“Boss, I still have the positive results of your cardiac scan from earlier. You may want to look over them. I have listed some possible treatment options for you.”

“Yeah, got it, thanks FRIDAY.” His tone was the opposite of pleased. He didn’t hesitate to swipe away pictures of a chest x-ray and other images of the scan results that had popped up in front of him. Tony was on the ball very quickly but not before my eyes widened and I stuttered. He averted my gaze and I tried to process what I had just heard. The air seemed to grow thick.

“Did you… did she just say…”

Now I saw what had been bothering him. The way he looked at me, awaiting my question, showed how worn and stressed he’d become. I felt bad that I had only just noticed this.

“You had a heart attack?” I finally managed to ask.

Tony shifted his feet around. “It wasn’t a big deal—”

“Not a big deal?” I demanded. “Tony, you _have_ to be kidding. This is _serious_. You have to tell someone. You can’t just—”

“It’s not if I didn’t even know I was having it!” he argued loudly. “You don’t get to tell me what’s serious or not. ‘Cause I _get_ what that means by now.”

My mouth hung open in disbelief. “You… you didn’t know you were…?”

He chewed on his lip and turned away, as if it was hard to talk about. “You know, funny thing, when you have a lot of issues with… stuff, it gets kinda hard to tell which is, uh, _which_. I thought it was just, uh… you know, the anxiety.”

My chest panged for him. I realized that he must have still suffered from panic attacks, so often that he didn’t think anything of it. Tony went on.

“So it turns out that it wasn’t just that, and I had a minor heart attack and didn’t even know it until afterwards. It really is hard to tell, nowadays. Guess I should be on professional watch ‘round the clock, huh?”

He said it so devastatingly that I couldn’t help but sympathize for him. I regretted feeling angry toward him about this. I was sure it scared him just as much as it scared me. So I softened my expression and voice.

“Tony, I—I’m sorry, I didn’t think…”

“Well, you were right about one thing. I didn’t tell anyone until just now, after you heard.”

I furrowed my brow. “Okay, that’s not good. Pepper needs to know, Tony.”

“Right, what am I supposed to tell her? Oh yeah, honey, I kinda had a heart attack but I played it off as the anxiety until I decided to run a cardiac scan, then I found out that I could have easily died last night. But it’s fine, you shouldn’t worry about me. All good, right?”

I pursed my lips. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? You don’t want Pepper or me to worry about you.”

Tony made a noise of protest. “Uh, yeah, I don’t see how that’s a problem. What’s the phrase I’m looking for? Happy wife, happy life, ever heard of that? Because it’s true. I get it now.”

I made a serious face at him. “But Pepper can’t be happy if something happens to you. Neither can I. I mean—”

“Hey, nothing happened to me, Small Fry. I’m okay, really, I just need to—”

“No… _Tony_ , you don’t understand. Now that you’re a father, you’re no longer expendable. It _is_ a big deal, now. Because you have not one, not two, but _three_ people who depend on you being here. It’s not about surviving, or being _fine_ , but being… here. So this may be the only time, but even if it is… you need to make sure you’re going to be _around_ , you know?”

I bit my lip and tried not to let myself break down. I had lost too many family members – I wasn’t about to lose another one.

“You’re right,” he admitted at last. “I’ll just call up Banner and – oh, wait.”

I frowned at him, disappointed in his timing for the sarcasm, and Tony relented.

“No, I’ll get some help.” I raised a skeptical eyebrow and he nodded with certainty. “Promise.”

I finally looked up at him and fought for an encouraging smile. I knew that this bothered both of us for different, and yet valid reasons. So I suggested something that I thought could benefit the two of us.

“Do you need a hug?”

“How did I know you were going to ask that?” Tony asked, before blowing out of his mouth. “Fine. Get over here, kid.”

I approached him and was surprised to find that he actually wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. I supposed we were both shaken up by a mixture of things. It didn’t sit well with me how much gray hair I’d recently noticed in his goatee.

“Avery or Ashton,” he blurted out. I pulled back and shot him a confused look.

“What?”

Tony shrugged. “I tried to get her to go with a distant relative name, but she liked the _A_ names. So it’ll most likely be Avery or Ashton.”

I smiled lightly. “I like those,” I stated plainly. “Really. They kinda match yours. See? I’m not judgmental.”

He scoffed. “Right. I’m sure you had your own ideas, didn’t you?”

I smirked at him. “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I’m not open to new possibilities.”

**the night of senior prom**

The entire day seemed to have gone by so fast. Pepper and I had completed our shopping trip a few weeks ago, so I felt decently prepared for this night.

Not really. But in theory I should have.

I stood in front of the mirror in my bedroom and tried to get my heart to stop racing. I needed to calm the heck down. It was just a party, I told myself. All my friends would be there. I would get dressed up, I looked pretty okay, and it would be fun. Maybe I would just ask Peter to skip on the dancing. He wouldn’t feel bad, right?

I sighed. Whatever happened would happen, I told myself. The extra worrying about it wouldn’t help anything.

Before I could leave my room, my phone buzzed, and I immediately checked it. I was shocked to see who it was, but in a good way.

 _Hey, just checking in. Haven’t in a while. How’s it going?_ ’

I hadn’t heard from Steve since a few months after the fallout, which was about eight months ago. I wasn’t upset – I knew it was hard. And there wasn’t a whole lot to say between us. It was almost an awkward situation, as I was forced to painfully ride the fence during the entire fiasco. I hoped Steve got that. I didn’t want to see anyone hurt, but I understood how it had to go.

_Hey, it’s going okay. I’ve been good but I’m stressed at the moment. First senior prom. It’s nerve-wracking but I feel bad saying it’s a problem. It’s a good one to have._

_No, I get it. Jitters, right? I know exactly how that feels. I was never one for those kinds of things, but I did try them every now and then. Could I ask who you’re going with? Anyone I would know?_

I couldn’t believe Steve was asking about this, but I gladly told him. _You’ll never guess. My date is Peter, you know, Spider-Man?_

_Oh, I remember that kid. He seems like a good guy. Queens, right?_

I smirked. I was happy to see he remembered meeting Peter in that short moment while fighting him. It meant a lot to me, even though it was kinda strange.

_Yeah. It should be fun. But enough about me, how are you guys doing?_

_Hanging in there. I just wanted to see how you were. You know my offer still stands. I assume you haven’t needed anything, yet?_

_Guess not. And I will let you know as soon as I need something. I miss you guys around here._

He didn’t respond right away and I didn’t really expect him to. I was… well, _relieved_ to see that he still thought about me. To be honest, I had pretty low expectations for the team in that regard. I understood that I didn’t really fit in with them. At all. It was no one’s fault.

I checked my watch and saw that Peter was supposed to be here any time now, so I decided that I was ready and headed down to the main floor of the facility.

Apparently Peter had just arrived because when I got down there, Pepper was greeting him and at the sight of me they both turned and the room went quiet. I winced because I disliked being the center of everyone’s attention, but it also felt nice to be… noticed.

I was wearing the dress Pepper and I had picked out for the evening. It was light blue and reached the top of my chest but was cut off around my collar bone so it showed my neckline and the tops of my shoulders. The sleeves stopped just short of my elbows, and the bottom flowed elegantly down to my knees with lace wrapping around the edges. The middle was tight around my small waist but fanned out below that. I liked it because the color was nice on me, complementing my light brown hair and eyes, and it was simplistic, which was my favorite kind of dress. I hated being too over-the-top.

I smiled brightly, seeing that Peter matched me. His suit was the usual black suit and white shirt, but his tie was light blue, just like my dress, and he even had a matching flower sticking out of his suit pocket on his left.

He seemed at a loss for a moment, but Pepper was quick to speak up.

“Wow, Sami. You look _beautiful_ ,” she told me. “I’m glad we picked that dress.”

Peter cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, you look… really pretty, Sami.”

I bit my lip. “Thanks. You do, too.”

“Hold on, let me get a picture,” Pepper told us, motioning for us to stand together. I could barely wrap my mind around it. Here I was, posing for a picture with Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, on the night of senior prom, about to go with him as my date. And the huge Avengers _A_ on the wall in the background wasn’t exactly helping.

Peter wrapped his arm around me and I did the same as we smiled and Pepper snapped a photo of us. “Nice,” she commented.

“Could you send that to Aunt May? She asked for pictures,” Peter explained. She nodded.

“Actually, I’ll send it to _you_ to make it look like you actually took some.”

I smirked at Pepper’s cleverness and fumbled with my fingers nervously. But it was a happy, excited type of nerves, I figured. “Uh, where’s Tony?”

“He should be down in a minute,” Pepper said in a slightly irritated tone. I made a thoughtful face and nodded, knowing that we had to leave. I absentmindedly touched the necklace I was wearing as a nervous tick I had, as it was one of the few items that had come with me on my journey from the other world.

It made me feel better that Peter appeared just as on-edge as I felt. I fought for a confident smile every time he looked my way, and I knew that I probably seemed a lot more chill than I felt inside. I kept turning my gaze over to him, in awe of how nice he looked. His hair had been slicked down for the evening and parted nicely, and the suit was very sharp. I was shocked to think that I had the privilege of going with him. Most girls at the prom wouldn’t think much of it, as Peter was one of the stereotypical “smart kids”, like me…

But I knew who he _really_ was, and all the butterflies in my stomach were his fault.

I smoothed my choppy hair behind one ear and awaited Tony’s arrival. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long, and when he finally came out of the elevator, he sauntered in, in his usual cocky _look-at-me_ fashion. But then he stopped to look.

His eyes flicked to Peter and then caught on me. I felt like I was being strategically analyzed for a few moments, and then he looked away. At last Tony met my eyes and I shrugged, waiting for him to say something.

“You look very nice, Small Fry,” he managed. I almost wanted to remark about how articulate these guys were about complimenting _females_. I didn’t think it could be _that_ hard. But I smiled anyway, knowing that that was most likely the equivalent of _positively_ _stunning_ , for him. His expression said a lot, as well.

“Thanks,” I replied softly, rubbing my right arm with my left hand. I caught a passing glimpse of Tony turning to Peter and shooting him a nod and a sly wink. I opened my mouth to protest to this small gesture, as I had no clue what it could mean, but I supposed it was fine. I also didn’t know what I could even say about that.

“Alright, are we ready? Then let’s get this show on the road,” said Tony, clapping. I raised my eyebrows.

“Uh, Happy’s driving us, right...?” He waved this off.

“’Course not. I am.”

Several alarms went off in my brain, and even Peter knew where I was going with this. “Um, okay, what happened to us never going out in public together because if people knew that I was with you then… then…!”

“Yeah, I think it’s about time we changed some of that. How big of a deal could it be? The press does what I say pretty much, I could get you away from the majority of it, no problem. You’re an adult, anyway. No use sheltering you any longer for something that’s probably going to die down pretty fast, right? It’s been two years, Sam. I think it’s time to do it.”

I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “I just think that it’s safer—”

“Safer? Than what? What could this hurt? You’d probably be the coolest kid at school these last few months. So what if people connect you to me? So _what_ if the world finds out I adopted you? It means less secrets and even more people leaving you alone. Isn’t that what you want?”

I sighed and looked up at him. “But… what about bad guys? Wouldn’t I just be a… a _target_ , then?”

“No, you’d be under _my_ protection, clearly. Besides, who wouldn’t want to be dropped off at their senior prom by, uh, _me_?”

I rolled my eyes and finally gave up. I couldn’t argue this any longer without Tony realizing that something was up. Peter kept trying to lock his gaze with mine, but I didn’t let him because I needed time to process this.

Tony started down to his garage with Peter at his heels, but before I could follow, Pepper grabbed my arm gently.

“Hey,” she began, and I swallowed, instantly getting the notion that she was on to me. “ _Smile_. You’re going to prom and it’s going to be fun, okay?”

I pushed away my anxiety and nodded quickly, grinning at her. “Okay, yeah, sorry. Got it. Thanks, Pepper.”

She smiled back, satisfied, and sent me on my way. I took a deep breath and exhaled it out slowly, trying to get all the bad thoughts out of my mind. It was going to be fine. Just a fun, chill night with Peter. I’d let myself have fun. I wouldn’t ruin this for him.

I thought back to how horribly his last prom had gone. _No_. I seriously needed to stop worrying. What could happen? Nothing. Not tonight.

But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t make myself fully believe that this appearance tonight somehow wasn’t the last piece of evidence that the man needed.

\---

The ride in the backseat of Tony’s red sports car – that had been hand-picked for the evening, I guessed – was one of the most uncomfortable things I’d ever experienced. I was beginning to notice that I usually didn’t do these types of things for a reason.

When I got in, Peter slid a clear plastic box over to me. I studied it. The box contained a beautiful blue flower on a wrist band.

“Aunt May picked that out,” he told me. “Hope you like it.”

I grinned and met his eyes. “I love it. I’ll put it on as soon as we get out.” I was shaken out of my worries for a moment as I admired the corsage that went perfectly with his own. And I temporarily wondered why I was nervous, at all.

Tony looked in the mirror back at us. “You know, I don’t know why we’re only doing this now. Too bad you’re only going to be the coolest kid at school for another month or so.”

“Yeah, you missed all the parent-teacher meetings,” I muttered with a snarky tone. “Conveniently.”

“Well, that’s probably for the best. If they caught me on a bad day with any kind of negative news, I probably would’ve fired them for lying.” I scoffed as he continued. “Plus, you’re going to be _giving_ the meetings soon enough, right?”

I looked down and chewed on the inside of my lip. “Maybe. I don’t really know.”

“What? You’re not going to be a teacher anymore?”

I hummed. “Well, sometimes plans change. I don’t know what I want to do right now. It might have changed, maybe not. I’ll just have to see.”

Tony pursed his lips and turned back to the road. “Huh. Sami, are you sure everything’s okay with you tonight? You seem a little… distracted.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I’ve never really done anything like this before, so… I’m just a little nervous.”

He didn’t decide to comment, for which I was grateful, because I had no desire to keep talking about it. My gaze slowly drifted out the window on my right, and I watched the city fly by uninterrupted for a few moments, until I felt something warm contact my hand that rested on the seat next to me.

I turned to the left to see that Peter had touched it gently in order to get my attention. I looked at him and he opened his mouth, looking for the words.

“Do you think—”

I shut him down. I didn’t want to think about it anymore and I _didn’t_ need Tony overhearing. So I shrugged and shook my head at the same time, looking down. I knew we were nearing the school, and my heart rate picked up once again.

“Uh, Tony, you really don’t have to get out. Thanks for driving us, we can take it from here.”

“Huh, wasn’t really my plan. What kind of chaperone would I be if I didn’t get out to wave you two off? What, are you embarrassed?”

Tony’s questioning eyes were back in the rearview mirror looking right at me, and I cleared my throat.

“No, I just… um—”

“Look, I’m just going to have a talk with Peter and then I’ll get out of your way for the night, ‘kay?”

I sighed and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Okay,” I forced out.

Tony pulled up to the curb just outside the front doors of the gym. Inside I saw flashing lights and sparkling dresses everywhere. The air was full of chatter and excitement. I got out and closed my eyes for a moment of serenity before turning to face the night.

They were all so oblivious.

I went up a few steps slowly before Tony got out of the driver’s side and onto the sidewalk. I figured they’d had a pretty quick talk, and I didn’t want to even think about what he said to him. I was sure it wasn’t that bad, though.

The reactions to Tony arriving at the Midtown School of Science and Technology was like moths finding a lamp. Many couples turned and gasped, and I heard many dispersed whispers along the lines of “is that _Tony Stark_?” Several phones were whipped out in the few seconds he was visible.

He simply patted Peter on the back and though I had tried to distance myself from him, the billionaire waved toward me coolly.

“Have fun, Sami. I’ll be back to pick you up later.”

I made sure to smile and wave back, even though it was the _last_ thing I wanted to do. I felt like I had flown out of my body and was watching from above, shaking my head in disappointment. Peter approached me swiftly.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I nodded, swallowing. I couldn’t think straight. I just needed to get my mind off of it. I wanted to go home, but that was out of the question, so I tried to focus on having a good time. We began walking into the school.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Peter went on quietly. “But it’s going to be okay. Nothing could happen tonight. We’re gonna have a great time.”

I smiled confidently at him. We were. He didn’t have to say very much for me to agree – just being around him seemed to calm me down. He wasn’t much help in the car, because Tony was there to eavesdrop on us, but now it was just him and me. And that was all I needed.

Inside the gym, everything was decorated very nicely. White balloons littered the floor, kids filled most of the standing space. Music was playing and while I didn’t recognize the song, it sounded lit. Some kids stood around talking, some were already dancing, and some were hanging around the refreshment bar. I looked at all the girls’ dresses and coveted none of them. My own was perfect just the way it was.

I… _also_ coveted no one else’s _date_.

“Peter! Dude!” Ned greeted his best friend, before looking at me. I smiled, apprehensive of his answer.

“Sami, you look… really different. A _good_ different. Like… a _girl_ —”

Peter made loud noises of protest and disbelief to his ever-articulate friend. I supposed he was stopping him from saying something he would regret. “Um, Ned, she looks perfect. She’s also my _date_ , bro.”

I grinned and blushed brightly at Ned who a mimed a soft and yet shocked _oh_. A slew of our other friends, including MJ and Flash, came up and greeted Peter, and during this time I felt my phone buzz in the small purse I was carrying. My heart dropped into my stomach. It couldn’t be. Not this fast. I couldn’t bring myself to look at it right here.

“Hey, Peter, could I excuse myself to the bathroom? I’ll be right back.”

He turned to look at me, furrowing his brow. “Oh, sure. Yeah.”

I didn’t say anything more before excusing myself properly and rushing off. The bathroom was a little way down the hall, and I felt lucky to find myself alone there. I barricaded myself in one of the stalls, closed the toilet lid and made it my seat for the moment.

I made haste to pull out my phone and scan through my new message. And in an instant, my worst dread was realized.

_As I’m sure you may have guessed, I saw that nice little show your friend put on tonight. Currently there have been 37 Tweets about Tony Stark and counting. Did you think it could escape my notice?_

_I’ll be waiting outside for your answer. Either you meet me there, or a lot more people will start to get involved in this, and neither of us want that._

I started to full-out hyperventilate. I couldn’t process it – couldn’t think – couldn’t _breathe_ –

What was I going to do? I didn’t want to ruin this night for Peter. Not like the last time.

But what else _could_ I do? I did _not_ want to bring Tony into this. From the sound of this, that would be a very bad idea, I thought. This was between me and him, the man had said.

 _How about this?_ Another text came through and my eyes were glued to it. _I’ll give you 5 minutes to make your decision. If I don’t get an answer, I’ll take it as a no._

And now it was urgent and even clearer that I couldn’t sit in here all night, even though it was an appealing idea. I had to do it. Tony couldn’t get back here in time for whatever he was planning to do.

What would the Avengers do in this situation? Peter? In all honestly, I knew exactly what they would do. Those self-sacrificial idiots… that I admired as friends. But it was just me this time. I had no team to back me up, just Peter.

It would have to do.

I finally made myself stand up and shakily leave the bathroom. My hands were sweating and I didn’t know how I was keeping myself from falling, but somehow I did. Peter was the first one to notice me back, and he was immediately alarmed.

“Hey, what’s goin’ on?” He froze. “Sami, you look… really pale. Is everything – did something happen?”

I swallowed and this time the thuds of my heart against my ribcage could not be ignored. “Uh, yeah, listen, I gotta go…”

“Wait, no, you don’t,” Peter cut me off before I could explain. “Did you get a message? Because I have my—”

“No, Peter, stop for a second. I’m on a time limit now, I have to do this. If he comes in here and lets everybody know… what he knows, then that’s it. My life will never be normal again. This is my problem to deal with.”

“But you gotta let us help—”

“I will,” I told him quickly. “That’s why I need you to stay here so that you can go get Tony. You can rescue me, Peter. You’re the only one who knows about this and you can stop it. I know you can. But… he has to take me first so that I know what he wants. It’s the only way to get something out of him. He made it clear that I can’t bring anyone else into this.”

Peter looked hurt. Much more in pain than I’d ever seen him. “Sami… tonight, Mr. Stark… his talk in the car with me was that I was responsible for you tonight. That he trusted me.”

I sniffed and bit my lip hard to stop it from quivering. I was more afraid than I could express. “It’s gonna be fine. Okay? This is my decision. I know you’d make the same one.”

And with that I pushed past him and his protests and out of the school gym. Finally I was standing out in the night air and I looked for anything that resembled the man. A vehicle, an evil henchman, something.

Then over to the left of the gym, I saw a black van, and started to make my way over there. As I got closer to it, I noticed a man leaning against the back of it.

“I was beginning to get worried that you’d never come,” I heard him say. “But you did the smart thing. Thanks for that.”

My defenses were instantly up. “Okay, dude, who are you and what do you want? I’m ready to come with you as long as you don’t hurt anyone else.”

He stepped out of the shadows and I could make out his facial features at last. The man had dark hair and blue eyes, but he looked tired and slightly crazed. His face also showed a bit of aging but was still handsome in a very frightening and alarming kind of way.

“That’s a fair bargain and I’ll hold up my end,” he assured me, though I was convinced of nothing. “As for who I am, I’ll start by saying my name is Damon White, and I used to work for SHIELD.”

I stared at him. “SHIELD? You’re with… with—”

“ _Used_ to,” he corrected me. “But don’t worry, I’m still one of the good guys.”

A large shiver traveled down my spine. I knew that SHIELD was one of the main reasons Tony had kept me off all radars in the first place. I didn’t like this at all.

I decided in that instant that I was no longer just going to come quietly. No, I was going to try to fight. Damon clearly noticed this and started to taunt me.

“Oh, you’re going to try that method, now? I thought you were smart.”

I was just grateful to be wearing flats. We both advanced on each other at the same time, as the man had relented and chosen to fight back, and I tried my best to throw a few punches. I mainly aimed at his face. They were erratic and misplaced – I was pretty strong, but not skilled or coordinated whatsoever. And it was a decent disadvantage.

Damon smirked. “One rule for you: never pick a fight against a SHIELD agent – _or_ a former one.”

It didn’t take him long to completely knock the wind out of me, himself unscathed, and just after I got up I was back down again, this time unsure of what exactly happened. But I did know that my leg had made harsh contact with the concrete and was now broken.

I whimpered and yelled out in pain, and the man seemed almost apologetic.

“Oops, didn’t mean for you to land that hard. Well, at least you can’t get away.”

My eyes brimmed with tears and I couldn’t situate my leg in any position to ease the pain, but luckily I was distracted from it for a bit.

“Stop! Let her go and I won’t hurt you!”

Spider-Man had flipped into the scene, and I wanted so bad to be mad at him but I just couldn’t do it. I figured it’d been stupid to think he would just stay inside while I was being taken away. It had probably only taken him this long because he had to get his suit on. He wasn’t _The Flash_ , after all.

Damon just looked amused. “Spider-Man… how did I not see this coming? Is Iron Man on his way to help you out, like always?”

“Not this time.”

Just like that Peter used his webs to drag Damon away from me, which didn’t exactly help my situation because I still couldn’t get off the ground. But I was still really grateful that he was helping because now I had a chance to get away. You know, I changed my mind. I didn’t want to give myself up to him anymore. I wanted to go home now.

Within seconds Damon’s hands were webbed together behind his back and Peter, deciding that he was okay for now, rushed over to me. I was speechless in the amount of pain I felt, but I managed to scream out of relief as he started to help me up.

“ _Peter_!”

“Peter, huh? Good to know.”

I winced, knowing that I had made a mistake by giving the man his name, but I allowed Peter to continue helping me to my, well… foot, and he was trying to get me into position as he readied his webs to take off with me.

“It’s okay, it’s gonna be okay.”

_Tony looked down at me and strained to grab my fingers as they started to slip off the edge of the ledge I was hanging from. “Just hold on, it’s going to be okay!”_

“Is it?”

My stomach dropped even further when I saw that Damon’s hands had been freed. Peter was flabbergasted. His webbing was really strong and could hold anybody – I didn’t see a knife or anything like that in his hands. There was more going on here than at first glance, I figured.

I didn’t have enough time to feel upset that Peter didn’t think this through entirely. Damon just made a determined face and rushed over to me. He was pretty large and muscular, so he easily knocked me totally out of Peter’s hold with his force. I yelped desperately.

Damon grabbed my shoulders and I braced for more impact on the sidewalk, but none came. I felt a falling sensation – like we just _skipped_ the concrete somehow and fell straight through it into nothingness.

Spider-Man was left alone where we had disappeared, looking around with total perplexity. He waited for us reappear anywhere around him, but we never did, and he was unsure of how to react.

“What the…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAAAAT. That's pretty crazy, y'all. People don't just disappear. What do you think happened? And again, the life decisions. Sami needs to work on hers. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

The scene in front of me started out bleak, and at first I thought for some awful reason that I was waking up in my bed at the facility, and was in for… well, a rude awakening. I inhaled sharply, realizing that I could not stretch my arms out and that my right leg was totally numb. I was also sitting upright in a chair and the reason I couldn’t move my arms was because they were tied to the arm rests of the chair with rope.

I blinked in the bright light that shone on me and tried to get an idea of the setting where I found myself. It looked like an old dusty warehouse and it smelled faintly of gas. The scent grew stronger as my consciousness increased. My best, expert guess was that I was in some kind of abandoned auto shop. The scene before me was cold and bare. Lonely. It sent shivers through me.

It didn’t take long for me to notice the man sitting across from me, hunched and watching me expectantly. He had dark hair and eyebrows, light eyes and a worn expression, like he was constantly in some sort of pain. He also had a visible scar on his left temple and another on his lip. It certainly looked like he’d been through a lot, which really didn’t make him seem any more friendly.

I recoiled and furrowed my brow, deciding to voice my thought as soon as it flew into my head, swallowing all fear for the moment.

“Well you’re not lacking in the _creepy_ department.”

Damon smiled, not visually perturbed by my comment. “If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t been watching you the whole time. Just for a few minutes after I heard you waking.”

I sneered. “Right. That makes me feel so much better. Not like _you_ care…”

He stood and I took note of how he wore a light gray dress shirt with a slick black tie. I didn’t know what he was so dressed up for… but it did remind me of the style of someone who worked for SHIELD. I didn’t like it.

“I think you’ll find out soon how _not_ true that is.” Damon gestured to my leg that I could not currently feel. “I gave you some painkillers for your leg.”

“Uh, this is more like _lidocaine_. The kind that doctors give you.”

He smirked and averted his gaze. “Pretty strong. But that’s caring about your feelings for you.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s making sure I’m able to talk. It’d be kinda hard if I were screaming in pain from a broken leg.”

Damon pointed at me. “You’re good. But I’m still telling the truth.”

I ran with my sarcasm. “Of course you are. For some reason, though, I feel like a need to be convinced of that. Let’s get to it. How did we get… here? We, like, fell through the ground. Why am I here?”

“Hold on, hold on. I’ll answer your questions after you answer a few of mine.”

“Uh, not how this works. I have to know where we stand. That’s the only way I’ll tell you anything.”

I got to get a good look into his icy blue eyes when they locked with mine. He seemed reluctant but finally sighed.

“Okay, fine. You’re here because I need to know what really happened in the other universe. Eventually I’ll fix it but for now I just have to know why, and so do you.”

I racked my brain, having gotten stuck on one phrase in particular. “…Fix it?” My voice was shaky.

“No, no, no, you can’t get ahead of me here. Now you know why you’re here, and now you can tell me _how_.”

I sighed. I supposed I’d be here for a while. It was a good thing Peter and I already took care of our dance.

\---

(back to the dinner at the facility)

We’d just been talking for a while, and it was all good. I finally found out how they managed the dinner. Wanda and Pepper had tag-teamed the meal and set up the table. Tony had set up the “ambiance”, as he liked to call it, and Vision had been designated as the head waiter. I was just grateful to have been thought of at all for this. I could see the hints of Pepper’s planning everywhere. It was a nice evening, but it was about to get even better.

“Alright, I think that’s enough just standing around. FRIDAY?”

“You got it, boss.”

Suddenly a song began to play and I immediately recognized it. _Let’s Stay Together_ by Al Green. I looked to Tony just as soon as it came on.

“I didn’t think you had a taste for classics like this.”

“Well, you can’t exactly teach someone how to waltz to AC/DC, can you?”

I smirked. “This was Pepper’s idea, wasn’t it?”

“Um, yeah.”

And just like that Tony approached me and began showing me the proper positions for my hands. My left one wrapped around his shoulder and my right grasped his other hand. He instructed me gently with his right hand around my waist. I definitely wasn’t slightly uncomfortable. Not at all.

Tony looked the same way I felt, but he pushed on. “’Kay, keep your elbow up. Further up. Good. Now just do the opposite of what I’m doing.”

I had to concentrate so hard to keep up with him. Whenever he moved his right foot forward, I had to move my left foot backward, and vice versa. I got the one-two motion but it was weird having to do it the opposite way. I was used to practicing by myself.

“Hey, look up. Stop watching your feet. Watch me.”

I did as he said and Tony smiled at me goofily – it was one of those rare, eye-wrinkling smiles, which made me automatically return it.

“Oh, hi. Nice to see ya.”

“Sorry, I’m just trying to concentrate.”

“You’re doing fine, just feel which way I’m going and try not to look.”

I followed his advice and noticed behind him that Pepper had taken Peter and was leading him the same way Tony was me. They were both smiling.

“Alright, I think you’re ready.”

I frowned at my waltz partner. “For what?”

He pulled away from me at the same moment as Pepper stopped dancing with Peter, and the couple met. Tony looked back at me with a giddy expression and his wife just smirked.

“I want to get in on some of this action,” he told her. I sighed in content. It was an amazing sight for me, as I was perhaps the biggest _Pepperony_ shipper of all time.

Then Peter was standing close to me. Tony looked at us a couple times and gestured us together by just moving his eyes. I stuttered and was about to suggest it when Wanda and Vision stepped up to the two of us.

“Mind if we cut in?”

Peter and I exchanged a quick glance and both nodded before the android and the superhuman took us as their new dance partners. Vision paired up with me gingerly, and I grinned up at him with slight worry, because I was horrible at dancing and I didn’t see how he could be great at it, either. It wasn’t his fault – he’d only been in human form for a couple of years, now, as weird as that was to say.

It actually worked out pretty well. The song conveniently switched to something more upbeat and Vision and I went with it. I turned it into some kind of freestyle and it became less awkward and more fun. He even twirled me a few times, and then Wanda came over with Peter in a timely manner, smiling widely.

“Thanks for sharing him with me,” she said to me, and I wasn’t sure if she meant Vision or… Peter. Maybe it was both.

It was then that I decided that we needed a new song that was more designed for this kind of thing. A nice slow one.

“FRIDAY, play _Easily_ by Bruno Major.”

“Of course, Sami.”

Tony’s eyes were on me skeptically but I just crossed my arms confidently. Now Peter and I were really alone, and both couples were already slow dancing. I didn’t know how to approach it, so I was relieved that he took the initiative and stuck his hand out to me.

I smirked happily and took it. Now this I could do. It was much slower than the past two songs so I had time to think about every movement. The dance honestly just turned into a sway. I found myself looking around at Wanda, Vision, Tony, and Pepper. The former couple seemed completely content, smiling at each other. The latter appeared at peace – Pepper had laid her head down on her Tony’s chest.

As I watched all of this, the world seemed to be spinning around until I focused my gaze back on who was right in front of me. Peter smiled. Normally I would have been very much freaked out, but for some reason I just felt calm and relaxed. It seemed right. A sweet, slow moment.

“So how hard are Tony and Pepper setting us up tonight?” I remarked sarcastically. His eyes drifted off.

“Pretty hard…” he admitted. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not mad.”

“Me neither,” I agreed immediately. “It’s kinda sweet of them. And a little weird, but I think we’re… getting past that.”

“Well, we… definitely needed the practice.”

“We don’t make such bad partners, though,” I told him sheepishly. Peter cleared his throat.

“That Vision guy seems really cool in real life. I mean, uh, like… actually here. I’ve only seen pictures.”

I bit my lip, nodding. “Yeah, he is cool. It takes a little while to get used to him, and the real, um… skin… it makes it a little easier.”

“And he and Wanda are…?”

I snorted. “Oh yeah, I’d say so. It all started during _Civil War_ – you know, the big fight thing between Tony and Steve. You know, you should really watch the movie. It’s good. The details are helpful to know, honestly. Back in my world, I watched it several times. Actually, I could probably quote the whole movie to you.”

“I’d like that,” said Peter softly. “Wait, wasn’t I in that one?”

I pressed my lips together humorously. “Yeah. It was kinda like your first cameo, to create interest for your own movie that came the next year.”

“That’s so weird. I actually didn’t do it to increase box office revenue, though. My whole life isn’t a major blockbuster… at least I hope it’s not.”

I snickered but looked at him with understanding eyes. “Listen, I always feel so bad telling everyone this, but that’s just how it used to be. Now it’s the realest thing ever to me, and my old world feels like a… like a dream. But I think that since I’m here, now, the movies can’t turn out the same way. Now it’s not set anymore and things can… change. I don’t think anything can be how it was supposed to be, anymore.”

“Good,” Peter breathed, smiling a bit. “Because I like how this is going.”

\---

He took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do. But it was perhaps the hardest thing he’d ever thought about doing.

“Mr. Stark,” he choked. Karen had connected him to a call with Tony through his suit. Peter could have been able to see his face with the hologram screen that popped up on his right arm, but he shoved it down as he swung in the direction of the facility.

“Kid, don’t tell me you need a ride now. I know you were both nervous, but I’m not letting you chicken out at this point. I’m not picking you up until at least—”

“Mr. Stark it’s Sami.” He spoke hastily, in a cracked voice, because he didn’t believe in dragging this out. The silence as deafening and he winced, waiting for the dreaded reply.

“What about her?”

“She’s… she’s gone. Mr. Stark, I didn’t mean to, I almost had her but—”

“What do you mean _gone_? Pete, you gotta calm down. Where are you?”

“I’m… on my way to the facility. Can’t really talk now—”

“Someone took her? Peter?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, she… disappeared. I don’t know.”

Tony was quiet again for a moment. Peter could tell he was trying not to blow up at him. “Can you give me any other information?”

“It was a man. He was fighting her and then I showed up and he… just disappeared with her.”

He scoffed. “I’m sure he didn’t—”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter argued, knowing what he saw. “They fell straight through the sidewalk.”

“Right… how close are you?”

Peter finally arrived at the Avengers facility, out of breath because of the long journey and what he had seen. He kept his cool, though, because of the urgency and because he needed to help. He definitely could not solve this on his own anymore.

Tony was in his lab, and Peter had only been inside it a few times, but it wasn’t the perfect moment to stop and enjoy the scenery. The billionaire’s serious eyes were on him and he swallowed.

“Go ahead. Take a deep breath, kid.”

He did as he was told and came right out with it. “So Sami was acting kinda weird at prom and she went to the bathroom, and when she came out she said she had to leave. She said she got threats that the man was going to tell the school about her secret and if she didn’t go out to him, then… you know. I tried to stop her, Mr. Stark, but she was just so… and she went out and they were fighting when I came up and I was just about to take her away when he broke out of the webs somehow… and he grabbed her and they just disappeared. Mr. Stark, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have—”

“We’ll worry about whose fault it was _after_ we find her,” Tony cut him off wisely, not so sure anymore that the blame wasn’t his own. “How did she get these threats? On her phone?”

Peter nodded, and then went on urgently. “Mr. Stark… she has gotten a few texts from the same guy before, uh, before now.”

He suddenly grew angry and disbelieving. “What? How do _you_ know about it? She told you but she kept it from me? Has she been getting threats this whole time?”

He didn’t know how to respond fully and Tony just pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll deal with that later. I can’t let myself be mad at you two right now. Not until I get some more information. Kid, I need a description, a car, an organization, anything…”

Peter exhaled through his nose, knowing that he was prepared for this part. “Well, I got pictures of his license plates on my phone, if that helps, but they didn’t use it go anywhere, of course. And Karen said she scanned his face and she’s sending it to you now.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Karen?”

“Uh, yeah, it’s uh, what I named my suit lady…”

“Suit lady?”

“You know what I mean,” Peter said heavily.

“Hmm. Maybe she’s friends with Tom, then.” He was surprised to hear that Tony knew about that. The genius quickly pulled up all the information about the man, and even though they’d been sarcastic with each other, the mood could not have been more serious. The jokes were only to take a little away from that, but soon it all came flooding back. They were both beyond worried for Sami, and he knew that Tony was mad and would get even more angry as time went on, but all Peter wanted to do was help.

At least they had hope to find her with the two of them working together.

\---

I was sitting there, sure that I had several cuts all over my body, that my hair was majorly disheveled, and that my leg was painfully broken. But the main thing I was aware of was the decision that I had to make, here. Damon was watching me expectantly with light blue eyes that pierced me every time I met them. Would I open up to him about what had happened to me and risk him finding everything out, or keep quiet and risk getting hurt or him forcing it out of me?

All the signs were pointing to him already knowing the truth, because why else would he have taken me? To everyone else I was normal. It was why I came with him, anyway. If it were true and he knew it all, he could have announced it to everyone and then my life would turn into a relentless string of interrogations and government watch.

But what would prevent that from happening now with him?

“Just so you know, I’m not affiliated with SHIELD at all anymore. If you’re afraid of them getting this information, or anyone else for that matter, you shouldn’t be.”

I hated how he seemed to have read my mind. I wanted so bad to cross my arms but I couldn’t. “Oh, come on. You obviously have some sort of evil minions to go with your lair, right?”

He shook his head. “Nope, it’s just me. It’s been that way for… a while. Besides, you haven’t heard me use any of those cliché terms for an organize who’s interrogating you, like referring to myself as a _we_.”

I raised my eyebrows, realizing that he was right. I didn’t have the opportunity to incorporate one of my favorite sarcastic responses, which was, “Well, _we_ has certainly done their research.” Dang it. I was waiting to use that one.

It struck me then just how _not_ typical this was. Damon was very different from every other kidnapper I’d ever heard of. Maybe it was just cover up to throw me off. Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.

“If it’ll help you feel more comfortable with this, I’ll tell you my side of the story. I know some of the details already. All I need is your assistance with the rest.”

I pursed my lips. “Fine. Go ahead. There’s _no way_ you can know about this.”

Damon just smirked in a smug, _oh-yes-I-can_ fashion. “Alright, let me start this all the way back when the Avengers were fighting Ultron. As they finished the battle, they encountered some sort of portal that took them to your world. And just like that, Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Thor, and Vision—” he counted on his fingers, “—landed right in your backyard. Literally. Somehow you kept their presence a secret, or even more likely: you _didn’t_. And you helped them build a portal to get home. It opened up on the balcony of Avengers Tower – and all nine of you walked out of it.”

My eyes were wide. He had described almost everything that had happened, except for what went on in my world, which was impossible for him to know. I didn’t know how to respond, so I stuttered.

“What… how do you know all of that?”

“We’ll get to my part in all of this soon enough. What I would like to know is _your_ perspective. Why would you help these heroes, whom you couldn’t have known in your universe, and why did you come with them?”

I exhaled deeply. I didn’t see any further harm that could come from Damon knowing the _why_ of all this – he already knew all the important stuff. And I figured it was my only chance of finding out what he had to do with it.

“Well, you should know that it’s kinda difficult to hide a team of superheroes at your house without your family knowing about it. I got lucky that they popped right in front of our house when I was the only one home. I knew them because in my world, this one is a movie series, and I was a huge fan of it. They, uh, spent the first night in our garage, but I was so stressed that the next day I skipped school after my sister and dad had already left. I knew they had to get home, so I spent that morning planning with them. After that we left and went to a facility in Georgia because it had the tech for the portal. I was away from school and home for almost two weeks during the trip, with no explanation or alibi. On the way I was captured by some government creeps, who thought I was some kind of terrorist because the portal gave off serious energy at my house when it exploded, like a bomb, and they had evidence of me sneaking around. I had nothing to prove my innocence with because I couldn’t give away the truth.”

“Then that’s why you came with them,” Damon finished. “You never would have been able to explain what you were doing and you knew that they would never let you forget your crimes. You’d either be a fugitive or a prisoner.”

I took a shaky breath. “When Tony suggested that I come with them, I didn’t think I could at first, but then I thought about going back to my family and trying to get them believe that I wasn’t some kind of national threat, or something. Starting a new life sounded… honestly, _much_ better than that, even though it was kinda scary.”

He nodded. “That’s understandable. I would’ve done the same thing, given the chance to.”

I huffed. I’d told this villain more than I’d ever told anyone, not even Peter. “So now you know. What’s your deal?”

Damon’s gaze turned dark. “I was a SHIELD agent when you came here. Top of my class. I know what you’re talking about when you said _explosion_. I was called to investigate this mysterious portal that had popped up, right smack on the balcony of Avengers Tower. It was giving off crazy-high amounts of energy already. I was supposed to be going home already, but I stayed to take notes and interview Stark a little further. Once you and your friends were safe inside, this door to another reality _exploded_. And I still have the scars to prove it.”

I swallowed any idea of speaking. He really was playing the sympathy card, here, but I was still skeptical and afraid. “What? You were… there?”

“Of course I was. I had a job to do. I wanted to impress my bosses, corrupt as they were. They wanted every piece of information I could get. I knew it was about to blow. Your friend Tony said to get clear, but I didn’t listen. I _couldn’t_. The portal exploded with energy, and it affected nothing around it except me. Stark was already in his suit, he was untouched. I was the only living being nearby. I could have easily died that day, but for some reason, I didn’t. I woke up lying on the ground with his iron suit standing over me. And you know what your adoptive father said to me, his deepest condolences for my injury that would never heal? _Well, that doesn’t look good._ And just like that he sent me off to a hospital. Patted me on the head and scooted me away like everything was fine. I was fired that day for losing the evidence and being unable to work from the injuries. I’ll never forget.”

I stared at him. “But how does a portal even… how did it hurt you? It’s just a gateway across the multiverse… right?”

“It’s much more than that. It’s an unstable energy source,” Damon added. “It affected me physically, so much that… well, I won’t bore you with all the details.”

I scowled, knowing that he saw how much I wanted to know this. I needed to know all about what the dude was so that Tony could stop him. I still had another question.

“That’s why we went through the sidewalk. You can…?”

Just like that, everything seemed to make sense to me. If this guy could open portals, then he could probably open one up and… _fix_ things. Right the universe. Balance it out.

Because what was making it unbalanced? _Me being here_. Whatever problems Damon was having… he thought he could fix them by…

Sending me back.

“No,” I shook my head violently. “No, this isn’t the way. It won’t fix things.”

“What other choice do I have?” Damon sighed, clearly trying to calm himself. “Don’t worry, I’m not ready for that step just yet. It won’t have to be me, in the end, if everything goes according to plan.”

All of my mental alarms were ringing with earsplitting pitch by now. I couldn’t understand what was stopping him from doing it right now, and it worried me. “What are you saying? It won’t have to be _you_?”

He only smiled. “So curious today, huh? Let’s take a break, for now.”

“I hate you,” I hissed. “Tony’s going to come and save me. You just wait. You’ll pay for this. This plan, it won’t work. You’ll never get what you want.”

“But you say all of this assuming that I’m the bad guy,” Damon argued. “Didn’t you listen to my story? I’m balancing the universe, here. And I know Tony’s coming for you. Which is why I won’t be here when he does.”

\---

Tony and Peter had been working all night to find a solution, but to no avail. They had no leads on where Sami was – the van had been left on the curb at the high school and was of no use to them. By searching the profile of the man from Karen, FRIDAY was able to tell that he was a former SHIELD agent who had been fired and went rogue, off all radars since then. There had been no trace of him for almost three years, suspiciously the same amount of time that Sami had been in this universe, but that was their only clue.

Peter, though he tried his best, had very little to offer other than the information he had gotten and moral support. Tony had gone out searching for her five times over the course of twelve hours, and both of them were exhausted, yet adrenaline filled. That plus being wracked with worry equaled that they were a mess.

When the billionaire returned to the lab in his suit, Peter stood and asked for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Any luck?”

Tony pursed his lips and put his faceplate up. “How about you head home? You’ve been here all night, we’re not getting anywhere, and there’s not much for you to do.”

“No, Mr. Stark, I’m sorry but… I’m staying. If—”

“Listen, kid.” The stress and lack of sleep was getting to him. “I’m not entirely sure what you’re doing right now, and I also don’t know that you haven’t been the one helping cause this in the first place.”

Peter deflated, knowing that Tony didn’t mean it in a hurtful way, but it still stung. His expression softened after a moment.

“I’ll let you know if I find anything out, okay? Get home to your aunt, I’m sure she’s worried sick about you...”

Peter was fixing to reply when an automated voice spoke up.

“Sir, I have some new information that could be useful to you.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“A text message from an unknown number.”

Tony furrowed his brow and shared a look with Peter. That sounded familiar from what the kid had told him.

“What does it say?”

“It’s just an address, boss. Looks like an abandoned warehouse to me.”

His face lit up. “Can you input it to my suit? Find the fastest route. Do your stuff.”

“Will do.”

Peter spoke before Tony could, because he already knew what he was going to say.

“I’m coming with you, Mr. Stark. I’ll swing there if I have to. This directly involves me, too, now. Sami trusted me to rescue her, uh, with you, so… you can’t stop me from going.”

He could have sworn that Tony was almost smirking at him. He was admittedly impressed with his firm stance.

“Fine, but you won’t have to _web_ yourself there.”

It was a good thing that Peter had a strong spider-grip, because holding to a metallic suit while they were flying at top speed was not an easy task. It was a cool experience, though. He thought it was pretty convenient to be able to fly everywhere and not have to carry his own weight through the streets of New York.

The two of them landed outside an empty-looking warehouse and Peter flipped off of Iron Man’s back.

“Get behind me, I’m breaking in here. We don’t know what we’re going to find.”

Spider-Man did as he was told and stepped behind Tony as he kicked down the door to the warehouse and started inside, defenses up. He had his right arm raised and charged to shoot.

“Heat signatures?”

“Just one, boss.”

“One?” he snapped, scanning the place. He took it slow and was cautious for a moment. There was no guarantee who was in here, so he charged in, expecting a fight. Inside his suit he could see the heat signature, and crossed the empty space within the warehouse, seeing a source of heat coming from behind a door to their right. He could hear a voice inside it calling out, and suddenly Peter had rushed ahead of him. Tony tensed.

“Careful, Pete,” he warned

He shook his head. “It’s Sami. I hear her.” He supposed the teenager did win out with his heightened spidey-senses.

They burst into the room to find Sami strapped to a chair with a cut on the bridge of her nose, a slightly blackened eye, and various other scrapes on her right leg. Her eyes were wide and afraid but relaxed a bit the longer they stood there. Tony was reluctant to lower his blasters, but there had been no sign of the man anywhere in the building.

Sami didn’t seem so afraid. In fact, she seemed tired yet relieved as she looked up at them.

“Oh my gosh… thank goodness. You know, this is technically an adult-napping. Speaking of which, can I do that now?”

Tony frowned as Peter got on the untying. “Are you delirious, because that reaction seems a little… off. Especially for you, you’re not… freaking out?”

“Trust me, it’s going to hit me later. I just want to go home.”

Soon Peter had her undone and they just _looked_ at each other. Tony’s attention was captured and he was distracted from the rest of the scanning. He saw exactly how this was going to play out, because he _knew_ those looks. He’d given many of them in his life, in fact. And this was exactly what that was like.

\---

I was very shaken when I heard Tony and Peter come in. I had a feeling they’d be here soon, just because of the way Damon had been acting, and this was confirmed when he disappeared into thin air right before my eyes. I was just confused by all this. It was like he wanted them to show up – he led them right here somehow, right after he disappeared. It _had_ to have been planned.

But I no longer cared about that. Because now Peter was untying my sore wrists and I was going to be free. I looked up at him, trying not to cry yet since I was going home, but it was an uphill battle. Emotion filled me. Hiding it with sarcastic comments hadn’t really helped so far.

I looked up at Peter and wished I could see his eyes through the lenses on his red mask.

“I knew you’d rescue me,” I said in a breathy voice. I guessed that he smiled based on the way his mask was slightly pulled near the corners of his mouth.

“Hey, I’m here, too,” Tony complained, eyeing us. “Listen, where’s our guy?”

I ignored him and as Peter checked me over, about to help me up, I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me. I didn’t know what to say or how to process what I was doing, but an adrenaline rush hit me and I wanted to see if Peter felt it, too. The thought of never getting this chance was heavy on me.

And I could have sworn I heard Karen’s faint voice urging him to do it.

_“Kiss her, Peter.”_

Suddenly he lifted the bottom of his mask up and over his nose so that his mouth was free, and promptly locked his lips on mine. The movement sent a shiver down my spine. The good kind, I thought. It lasted a few seconds, a few magical, calming moments. Tony was undoubtedly a mixture of smug and speechless, until he finally spoke.

“Uh, I don’t mean to interrupt you lovebirds, but… we have some things to take care of, and Small Fry… your hands are glowing.”

I smile and pulled away from Peter. Tony was now completely at a loss.

“Now so are your eyes. Are you gonna… are you not concerned about this?”

I just laughed softly, and Peter finally pulled his mask back down, backed away and turned to Tony, who lifted his faceplate and stared at us. I could feel the warmth in my hands and blinked a couple times, hoping to get them to stop glowing with my emotion.

“I’m a little confused, is this normal for you? Gosh, I feel like I don’t even know you anymore…”

I smirked. “We’ll talk about it later. As for Damon, he disappeared again. Completely.”

Tony sighed. “And that’s it? No idea where he could be right now? I don’t like having so many variables.”

I kinda got a kick out of watching him not know what to do, but I had no time to waste. “Can we just go home now? My leg is broken and I need… I need…”

Over the past few minutes I had started to feel the numbing effect wearing off on my leg and by now it was killing me. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d be feeling the total pain of a broken bone. Peter helped me stand with my arm tightly wrapped around his shoulders. I winced and Tony seemed to be wracking his mind.

“We gotta get you back to the facility, kid. Pete, can you help her outside?”

“Sure.”

With that, Peter had no trouble basically carrying me all the way out of the building. I seemed to keep forgetting how strong he really was. He did stop a bus with his bare hands, after all. Sometimes in class he’d accidentally lift his desk slightly off the ground and quickly drop it, creating a large ruckus, and while the rest of the class would be confused, I’d silently smile to myself. He also carried us both to the top of one of the tallest building in Manhattan one time, so…

Soon we were standing in the sunlight, and I blinked, biting my lip.

“Should be here any second.”

I furrowed my brow up at Tony even though I couldn’t see his face anymore.

“What should?”

“You’ll see.”

In a flash, something metallic flew up, like a rocket-boosted case of some sort, and landed on the street right in front of us. I watched Tony skeptically as it began to unfold and shape into something new. What had just been a compact case was now a full out sports car, decked out with Tony’s red and gold metal. My eyes were wide.

“You… have flying cars now?”

He was obviously smirking inside his suit before he stepped out of it and opened the driver’s side door. “Just this one. It doesn’t fly – it’s _portable_. And it’s only the prototype. I thought it would be pretty useful in an emergency.”

I pressed my lips together as Peter began to help me hop inside. “Well, this definitely counts.”

\---

Tony watched me like a hawk as we went back to the compound. Of course he could get nothing out of me during the car ride. He was trying to get back as fast as possible before I started really feeling what a broken leg was like. I turned my attention to my thoughts and his reckless driving instead of anything important because I didn’t want to talk about it.

Soon we arrived and didn’t hesitate to get my leg checked out. They had to conduct an x-ray and diagnose the severity of the fracture to fix me up. He watched from the background as the few doctors were called into the medical bay and began inspecting me. They said I was strong and that my leg would heal up nicely, but I still had to wear the stupid cast for six to eight weeks. Peter wouldn’t leave until he was absolutely sure that I was alright, which I thought was the _cutest_ thing. Tony was not amused anymore.

You know, I didn’t get how people in the movies did this sort of thing, because it was the details like this that they always skipped over. But my life wasn’t an action movie and I wasn’t under contractual obligation to talk this out with Tony before I did anything else. I knew he was waiting to talk to me, but gosh dang it, I was still wearing a dress and I needed to go to bed.

I hoped he understood, but it wasn’t my fault if he didn’t. I couldn’t function until I took some quiet time. So one relaxing shower and twelve hours of sleep later, I was finally ready.

Being out of practice with maneuvering on my crutches, I struggled to get around well in my room. I wore pajamas with the baggy bottoms pulled over my hefty cast. I knew it was already around lunchtime the next day, so it was about time I left my bedroom and found something to do. I realized I was starving.

And Tony was probably fed up with how long this recuperation was taking.

I was able to open my bedroom door at last and stick my crutches out. I inhaled and before I could start the trek out into the living space, I noticed the sound of heavy breathing. Almost snoring, but not quite. It didn’t make me afraid, at all. Really, it did the opposite.

The reassuring noise was definitely coming from Tony, asleep on the couch outside. He was lying on his side and his left arm was sticking out beneath him. A throw blanket had been spread over him but it was a bit tangled. His pillow was the armrest behind his head and his mouth was hanging open a little.

I smiled to myself, wondering how long he’d been there. I was glad to see that he crashed, because Tony _never_ got an acceptable amount of sleep.

I turned my attention to my small kitchen and saw the coffee maker. I steadied my wobbly leg with the two crutches to help as I dragged my heavy cast along. Coffee was beginning to sound better and better by the second. The only hard part was making it.

I slowly made my way into the kitchen space, wincing the whole time because of how loud the crutches were as they struck the wooden floor. There was no way Tony could sleep through this. But I kept trying, taking out a mug and sticking it below the dispenser of the instant coffee machine. The struggle really arrived when I had to get the creamer out of the fridge and pour it in. I had to discard my crutches so that my hands would be free. I leaned them up against the counter and tried my best to hop on my good foot across the floor, bracing myself with the countertops around me.

I should have realized what would happen beforehand – it wasn’t the most methodical thing I’d ever attempted. I successfully made it to the refrigerator door and removed the creamer with little trouble, but I was still balancing on one foot while my cast was suspended in the air. My toes wiggled on the floor below me. I turned to face the other side of the kitchen, but my body was already all twisted up and I began to wobble quite a bit, so I reached out for my crutches which made it all the worse because I couldn’t reach them from where I stood. I was going down hard and didn’t have time to consider the best way to fall because it happened to fast and then… I didn’t.

A pair of strong arms had wrapped under my arms and provided the support I needed to get my balance back and straighten my foot beneath. Tony smugly handed my crutches over to me.

“Well, I wouldn’t recommend doing _that_ again.”

I scowled. “I thought I could do it…”

“Yeah, you gotta start asking for help with stuff now, or I’ll hire you a PA.” I noticed how he said like a terrible threat, which it certainly was.

“But you were asleep!”

“Uh-huh, thanks for being so considerate.”

I grimaced. “Hey, I was trying to be quiet, but I _really_ needed some food.”

Tony shooed me out of the kitchen. “Go sit down, I’ll get your coffee for you.”

“Okay, I like the vanilla creamer, and lots of sugar!” I informed him quickly as he waved me off.

“Yeah, I got it.”

The trip to the couch in the living room was much less stressful. I made it there okay, and it felt nice to sit down in my usual seat. I put my feet up and sighed. I disliked being served like this, but it felt better than risking falling by doing it on my own.

Tony soon arrived beside the sofa, handing me a mug of coffee, and tossing a granola bar into my lap. I smirked slightly and thanked him. As I blew on the hot drink, he meandered over to my right and stood next to the other couch, crossing his arms. He turned his face away and averted his gaze. After a few moments, I exhaled.

“So I know you want to talk,” I told him. “I would have done it before, but it was kinda hard, and then I needed a shower and some sleep. But I’m alright, now.”

“Really? Because you seem to be holding up _better_ than _alright_ , given what happened to you. Most people wouldn’t have been able to come back from that so quickly.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s what’s bothering me, Tony. I don’t know how to feel. I think I should be more upset than this but I’m just… not? I’m worried and scared and I feel like I could throw up, or cry, but I just… don’t. I feel like it’s wrong but I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. And I think it has to do with what happened.”

“What happened?” he demanded quickly.

“That’s just it. Nothing, really. Not to me, at least. I mean, he knocked me down and broke my leg, but after that we just… talked.”

“Yeah… we’ll get to that in a second. I need to know who this guy is. What did you find out? Peter said you two fell through the sidewalk… and why does he look so familiar?”

“Uh, yeah. You met him before. He said he was the SHIELD agent who came to the tower to investigate about the portal, or whatever.”

Tony didn’t expressively react very much to what I said, but I could still tell that realization was dawning on him. “The… the guy that was here when it exploded?”

I nodded grimly. “He said that he was injured for a long time after that and that he’ll never be the same, or whatever. I think that’s why he could go through the sidewalk and appear in another place – the explosion affected him somehow. And I’m pretty sure he kinda blames you for what happened, so he… basically hates you now.”

“I _told_ him to get clear. It’s on him, he wouldn’t listen,” Tony mumbled angrily. “So this is all to get back at me for that?”

“Not quite,” I replied, gritting my teeth. He seemed to not hear me correctly.

“Sorry?”

“Well, I think you’re _part_ of it, but…”

“What does he know about you?”

I closed my eyes for a second of stability. “He seems to think that… um, fixing things can make him better. Whatever happened to him, I don’t think he can control it, so he’s trying to cure himself and he thinks that…” I inhaled and chose to come right out with it. “He thinks that sending me back somehow will fix it.”

Tony’s mouth gaped open and his eyes were fiery. “Who does this guy think he is? What gave him the idea that you have anything to do with this?”

_“You, Sami, are much more centrally important than you realize. And you should be proud. You are helping to balance the entire universe. It will be grateful for your sacrifice one day.”_

I shuddered. “I don’t know, but he seems to have a lot of information about me.”

He placed his hands on his hips and I could tell that he was having difficulty keeping it together. “Like what? Like that… that _glowing_ …?”

“Oh, yeah, about that…” I swallowed and he cut me off.

“No, that’s okay, I got most of my information from Peter while you were getting fixed up. Which, he seems to be quite knowledgeable about this power you have. Wanna explain why he knows this? Actually, don’t tell me yet. I need to fuss at you really quick. Give me a minute.”

I winced in disappointment, having expected this to come at some point. And I would face it, because now I saw what a mistake it was.

“So is this some kind of broken record with you? Because it seems like you keep doing this. I just _keep on_ finding out life-changing information from you that Peter already knows all about and yet you’ve kept it a secret from me, _conveniently_. He’s not an advice column, he’s a _kid_ , Sami. If you think he can—”

“He was just trying to help me control it,” I argued hotly. “I’ve been trying not to use it at all, to keep it compressed, but it’s pretty hard and I needed someone to help me understand what was going on with me. I was scared and I—”

“Went to him instead of me,” Tony finished. “What did you think he could do better than me? Huh? Did you think he could train you to control it or hide it better? He doesn’t exactly have a great track record with that.”

“What’s wrong with Peter?” I asked loudly, getting really mad. “I thought you _liked_ me being friends with him, now. You _encouraged_ it! And I only went to him because I wanted you to treat me like I’m normal, because I knew everything would change once this came out! He was only being a good friend, Tony—”

“ _But he’s not your Da_ —”

The debate had escalated higher than ever and abruptly halted.

I froze.

He stopped mid-sentence.

I was breathing heavily. Crying.

Tony looked pained. The silence hurt my ears but neither of us knew what to say. I’d automatically filled in the last word for him and it filled me with regret. I realized how much Tony had changed and felt bad for not sharing this with him. I had been so afraid of being treated differently that I didn’t think about how Tony would only want to protect me. The motives behind it were what mattered – the rest could be dealt with.

“Look, Peter’s a good kid and I do like him, but he’s never been in my position. He doesn’t get what it’s like to wait all night for a sliver of information after getting news that his kid has been kidnapped. He’s never lost sleep over a decision he’s made that affected someone he cares about that he can never take back. Peter has never spent days trying to solve a problem to protect a person that he’s in charge of. But I _have_ , Small Fry. I’m… I’m _responsible_ for you. It’s not like saving the world. It’s different because you depend on me… me _personally_. And I could have stopped this, I just have to _know_.”

Tony’s tone was now softer and a bit cracked. I shrank and wiped a few tears away.

“I know,” I said quietly. “I should have told you. I was being stupid, keeping it all from you. I’m sorry. I was just scared and didn’t know how to go about it. Really, for a while I didn’t think anything actually would happen. I never thought he would get the information he said he needed because everything was so under wraps.”

“Well, next time I chaperone you to prom and you get an inkling that a kidnapper might show up and take you, give me a heads-up, could you? We also need to talk about this giving yourself up stuff, too.”

I nodded and bit my lip. “Right. Listen, I promise I won’t keep anymore secrets from you. Really. I’ll be an open book from here on out. You can even walk in on me and snoop in my business when I’m not expecting you to and I’ll be cool with it. Because I need your help and I shouldn’t have kept this information from you.”

He smirked. “Then we have to shake on it.”

“Oh, _please_ tell me we’re not doing that spit-thing. That’s disgusting.”

Tony shrugged like he had actually been planning on it. “If you insist…” He stepped forward and stretched out his hand in front of me. I hastily grabbed it and shook. It was warm but calloused – the hand of an inventor.

“It’s a deal,” I told him, smiling because it was a binding, dry handshake. Tony crossed his arms.

“Now we gotta be a team, here. I’ll help you with this power, and I’ll stop this guy, but it only works when I have all the information and if you work with me. When there’s secrets between us…” He made a noise with his tongue and a splitting gesture with his hands. I immediately got the message.

My mind instantly jumped back to Steve and the fallout between them. I knew Tony had plenty of experience with secrets dividing a team.

I wanted to be the exception, this time.


	9. Chapter 9

My room seemed smaller the longer I sat in my bed. I needed to get up soon but I was thinking.

It’d been a long week. Every day so far, Happy had driven me to school – dropped me off, picked me up, everything. I appreciated the help, because it was impossible to drive since my cast was on my right foot, but that didn’t mean I liked it. I hadn’t been able to just hang out and go places like I was used to. Tony insisted that I let his assistant do it for me, but now that I thought about it, I didn’t know why.

I mean, I _did_ have a car that could drive itself, after all. Why not use it?

I finally got ready and stopped by the lab on my way out to the garage. Tony didn’t have to look up because he obviously heard my crutches hitting the floor as I made my way around.

“Ready?” he asked. “I’ll tell Happy—”

“Um, that’s okay. I think I’ll take myself.”

“Okay, what, and _hobble_ there? Even better, steal someone’s wheelchair, perhaps?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m taking my car. It’s like I always say – Tom’s a great driver.”

Tony finally looked up and thought for a moment. “That’s definitely something I would do… I don’t recommend that.”

I smirked and began to turn around. “I’ll be fine, Tony. Really. Look, I’m gonna sit in the driver’s seat and even put my hands on the wheel, just in case. And I think I’ll try to get Peter to drive me back after school, anyways.”

He looked like he wanted to argue but ended up relenting. “Fine. But it won’t be on me if you get pulled over and arrested for not actually being the one driving your car.”

I pouted. “Yeah, everyone keeps reminding me of that. I get it. And yes it will, because you’re the only one who could pay my bail.”

“… That’s valid.”

Soon after this I was inside my car with my crutches stowed in the backseat, humming to myself contentedly.

“Hey, Tom,” I greeted the artificial intelligence. The vehicle roared to life and lights came on to show that my automated friend was listening.

“Hi Sami,” he replied. “How is your leg feeling?”

I made a pensive expression. “Well, it still really hurts and I hate this cast, but I’m okay. It’s a little better.”

“Glad to hear it. Would you like me to drive you to school?”

“I would, yeah,” I said. “I’ll just put my hands on the wheel just so it looks normal.”

“Good idea. You can just relax – I’m already locked in to the most logical route to your high school.”

I smirked. Tom was always very thorough and comforting. I’d spent so much time stressing over getting around with my cast that it felt nice to just let go. I also liked just talking to my own personal AI. It was like having an extra person to confide in that was physically unable to spill my secrets, unless Tony hacked him, which was unlikely. Actually… it probably was likely, but I decided I didn’t really care. I had plenty of embarrassing moments saved forever in his personal “Sami Fridge-Worthy” file, so what did it matter if a few more were added?

“You know, sometimes I kinda wish Tony could make you human like Vision just so I could see what you would look like. Do you have any ideas? For some weird reason I’m thinking, like, Lin-Manuel Miranda. And it’s not a bad idea.”

“I haven’t given much thought to it, but… I don’t think you’re too far off.”

I smiled. “Really? Now I’m that much more curious.”

My car finally pulled up at the school to my usual parking spot, and I grinned to see that Peter was standing at the curb, waiting for me. He had taken up the job as my very own backpack carrier for as long as I was on these crutches. I turned off my car and opened my car door, allowing Peter to reach inside and hand me my aluminum sticks in exchange for my bag.

Hey, what could I say? It was nearly impossible to balance anything on your shoulder while using crutches. I didn’t know how anyone could manage this without a designated backpack carrier. Goodness.

If you were wondering why Tony didn’t just build me an automatic wheelchair or some fancy type of crutches that did the walking for me, he _totally could_ have. But I wouldn’t let him. And I knew that the school understood that he’d adopted me so it wouldn’t be big deal anymore, but _still_. I did not want a free pass just because I had _connections_ , or whatever. This was the way everyone else in my circumstance had to do it, and _so help_ me, I would, too. I hated feeling special or privileged, because I didn’t _want_ to be.

I just wanted to keep what little normality I had left, because I felt like it was all slipping out of my grasp the longer I was in this universe. Some things were good, but some things I didn’t like so much.

One of those things was how long and hard all the students in my class stared at me on my first day back to school after the kidnapping, when they announced Tony’s sighting at prom and the connections to both me and Peter.

Yeah… that was a rough day for both of us. Tony had also taken a lot of press for me recently. I’d never admit to him that I had listened in on his conversation behind the closed doors, but I felt like there was no way he could _not_ know.

_He strode into the press conference after assuring me that I wouldn’t have to make any statements on record if he could help it._

_“Alright, people, let’s make this quick, ‘kay? I have important stuff to do.”_

_I couldn’t really hear the questions from the reporters – it all sounded like muffled, urgent shouting to me. But I could make out exactly what Tony was answering because he was using the microphone. It was like listening to someone talk on the phone, that kind of one-sided conversation._

_“Oh, so we’re jumping right into the kid thing, huh? I see how it is.” I supposed someone had instantly brought me up. There was more distant yelling before Tony cut them off._

_“’Kay I’m just gonna stop you right there. This isn’t a situation of a long-lost child that I just recently found out about and have taken in out of the goodness of my heart, like it’s_ Annie _, or something. It’s not even a kid I’ve had for years and kept quiet. This is different. How so? Because… I adopted her.”_

_Now I could tell that there were gasps and whispering going on in the background. It was like the sequel to the big “I am Iron Man” thing. I couldn’t help but smirk._

_“You know, I’m really embracing this philanthropist thing, as you can tell. I’m coming out with this now because I think it’s about time I did. No, I’m not planning to start a foster care program, and yes, she’s the only one. It’s a classic case of I… messed up, again, and I’m trying to fix things for someone who needs my help. That’s it. Are we done here?”_

_He stopped to listen again, and I knew that while he wanted to keep it short, he was allowing himself time to clear up some suspicions so that he could not be bombarded every time he stepped foot outside the compound. It wasn’t hard to tell how aggravated he was by it, however._

_“Look, I know it’s surprising given my history, but it’s kinda personal and there’s nothing worth all the drama. Sami’s eighteen now and almost ready to be on her own, but the thing she asked most is to be treated normally. Just because she happens to have been living with me does not mean any of you have the right to dog her. If you knew the lengths I’ve gone to, to make sure that her life stays private, then you would have no trouble leaving her alone. Got it? We’re done, then. Oh and by the way, Pepper’s pregnant. Chew on that for a bit. Bye.”_

_I wasn’t so sure that Robert Downey Jr. hadn’t snuck away through the portal in Tony’s place._

_He came back out of the meeting, dodging desperate reporters and slamming the door behind him quickly. Tony exhaled._

_“Huh. Well, that was exhausting.”_

_I was positively beaming at him, and he turned to me questioningly as he began to walk away._

_“What?”_

_“Nothing.”_

_He smirked._

_He knew exactly what._

Peter walked me to my first period and during the trip, I decided to ask about plans for the evening.

“Hey, so I was wondering…”

“Yeah?” he asked as he slowed his step to accompany my snail’s pace on the crutches as we made our way through the halls of the school.

“Uh, well, I thought maybe you could come back to the facility with me tonight. I need a lot of help around my floor and I’ve been starting to really feel bad asking Tony, because now he has a pregnant wife _and_ a cripple to worry about, on top of all of his other stuff. But I guess it could be fun, we could like hang out and stuff… if you want.”

I always got so nervous and awkward about these kinds of things, but luckily Peter didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Oh, yeah, that would be cool. I do have to go shopping for Aunt May after school, but that shouldn’t take long.”

The school day dragged by and I looked more forward to a relaxing night after each class ended. It was uneventful which made it all the worse. At long last the hour came – dismissal. I had a short creative writing meeting that lasted about twenty minutes and then I was free. Peter was nowhere to be found when it ended, so I headed back to my car with some difficulty, but I finally made it there.

“Tom, call Peter, please.” Propriety was important to me, even if the receiver wasn’t, uh, _alive_.

“You got it.”

He was slightly out of breath when he answered. “Hey, Sami.”

“Hi. I just got out of my club meeting; it was a short one today. If you’re not done shopping then I could just—”

“No, no, it’s not that, Mr. Stark asked me to, uh, apprehend some burglars for him.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What? He never asks you to do stuff like that for him.” I made Peter’s point, I realized, by his answer.

“I know,” was all he said. I figured it was a proud moment for him, because it meant he was seriously gaining Tony’s trust. After what had happened recently, that was a pretty big step for those two.

“Well, that’s fine, then. I’ll have Tom take me back and meet you there when you get done. I’m thinking grilled cheese.”

“Great, talk to you later!”

I didn’t want to hold him up so I quickly hung up and sighed. This is what I got for liking Spider-Man – he was almost always busy. I wondered when he slept.

\---

(exactly a week ago)

I didn’t get it. I’d been back for one day, _one day_ , and Tony was already calling me down to the lab. I hadn’t been allowed time to prepare my response to his solutions for my problems, which would undoubtedly entail some sort of heavy protection and sheltering.

I went down there to meet him nonetheless and found him waiting besides his examination table.

“Oh no,” I lamented immediately.

“Oh _yes_ ,” he corrected me. “Let’s get you checked out, kiddo.”

“I already went through all this yesterday…” I murmured irritably as I started getting up on the bed with Tony’s extra lift.

“Yeah, well, you got the normal version. I’m looking for anything… _not_ normal.”

I was absolutely _done_ as I sat there and let Tony hook me up to what seemed like every device he owned. When nothing came up on the scans, he took another route.

“Do you mind if I run an experiment?”

I shrugged. “Whatever. You’ve held me up this long.”

He was holding a tablet in his hand and appeared to be taking notes. “Okay, first, I gotta know. Does _everything_ you write just happen, or do you have to _believe_ it for it to work?”

I hummed. “Well, I think it depends. It’s like… a probability thing. Like I can see possible outcomes sometimes and that way I can find a solution to get them to happen, you know… the way I want. The writing thing just has to do with how realistic it is for something to happen. I think I might have to quit creative writing after this year because a story I wrote actually came true one time recently.”

“Peter told me about that,” said Tony thoughtfully. “Why do you think it happened? Because you wanted it to?”

“No, I didn’t even think about it like that. It was just a story. But I feel like it happened because it was pretty realistic and the point of the project was to see it in your head. Apparently I have to have some sort of belief in it. So that’s what I did, I guess. When I don’t mean to, I don’t notice it happening. But when I do it on the spot, my hands usually glow and so do my eyes.”

“You must have been _believing_ pretty _hard_ the other night at the warehouse, then.”

My cheeks burned brightly and I made a noise in my throat, embarrassed by what he was implying. “Shut up, Tony…”

Nonetheless his interest was evidently peaked by this new information even after he removed the knowing smile from his lips. “So do you think you could make your hands glow again, like that?”

I nodded slowly and concentrated, pulling my emotions up to the surface. It was as if I was digging them out of me and pushing them through the light in my hands. I knew that my eyes were also glowing golden from the effort. I just felt it.

Tony’s eyes were wide and the sight of him alone made me halt in my tracks. I shook my head.

“I can’t do this, I… I hate this.”

“But I haven’t even tested anything yet. I want you to—”

I forced him to meet my eyes. “I have no idea where this comes from, Tony. I don’t know how to control it, at all, and you’re acting like I’m the expert here, when I’m not. I’m… I’m supposed to be the normal one, here.”

“Yep, that’s the goal.”

My eyes snapped upwards with confusion. “…What? How can _that_ be the goal of all this testing?”

“I’m trying to make sure you stay that way. You can’t be normal if you have no idea what this power is or how to control it. I could help you, uh, hide it.”

I bit my lip. This was what I wanted to hear. “Uh, okay. Okay. That’s really what I want. I don’t want to be some… some freak.”

“Which is why you gotta work with me, here. Show me what you can do.”

I huffed. “Fine.”

After what seemed like hours of tests and experiments and notes and… well, you get the picture, Tony had finally gotten enough information to satisfy him and he helped me off the examination table.

I had to admit to myself what a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest once I found out that Tony understood. That all I wanted was to be okay, to be normal. Now that I knew he was going to help me do that, I was anxious to find out what his solutions to this were.

He led me to where he sat surrounded by screens, and I stood behind him, leaning on my crutches and waiting for him to speak up.

Tony sniffed. “Right, so I’ve got a few propositions for you to think about. I think we need to take extra precautions. You can practice using your power whenever you want, here, to prevent accidents in the future. It’s kinda what I made this compound for. You should use it.”

I nodded and he pushed on with his ideas before I could get a word in.

“Also I think I’m gonna install a tracker in you in a couple days—”

“What?” I demanded suddenly. It had all been going smoothly until I heard this. “A _tracker_? Like the kind that set off metal detectors at airports?”

“Relax, kid. You’re gonna want it, too. Would you like for this to happen again if Damon takes you in the future? The only way I had any clue where you were was when I got a text message with your address. There’s no way I get that some crazy chance like that again. I’d prefer to be prepared next time.”

I stuttered and internalized any remaining ounce of argument. Tony was right – last time we got lucky. If this ever happened again, he needed a way to find me, and I should have been willing to do anything to make sure that happened.

“Right. Got it.”

“Also, I’m going to be working on some energy dampeners just in case. You may never need them if you practice enough, but if it ever gets out of control they’ll be here. And I think I’m going to send you… to, uh, Clint’s place for a few weeks over the summer.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What? Why?”

“Because I think you need some training for, uh, self-defense. Could come in handy. And based on what I got from Peter about your fighting skills, you could use some professional advice. I don’t really think I’m the person to give it to you.”

I was shocked to hear this and it sent a mixture of emotion rocketing through me. I hadn’t seen Clint since well before the fallout, before he went off the grid, which was a long time ago by now. And to think that Tony still thought highly enough of him, enough to let me go stay with him… it filled me with hope that they could reconcile someday.

But above all I was nervous about the prospect of learning to fight. I’d never done anything like that before. However, the idea of staying at Clint’s little farmhouse made me reminiscent of my old life at my home. Maybe it would work out really nicely. _Hopefully_.

I realized as I processed all of this that Tony was staring at me, awaiting my answer. I shook myself back to the real world and out of my thoughts.

“Um, well… that would probably be really good. All of these ideas are good.”

He smirked. “Better than you expected?”

I shrugged sheepishly. “Honestly, I don’t really know _what_ I expected. I guess I was just worried what you would think about this power. I just don’t want my life to change because of it.”

“If everything works out the way I want it to… it won’t have to.” Tony sighed and looked away. “I don’t want you to be a super-human freak any more than you do, Small Fry.” His words were harsh but I knew what he was saying. “Because I’m responsible for too many of those, these days. Look at what I great job I’ve done.”

I shrank. “Tony, you aren’t responsible for them all. What happened wasn’t your fault. But you are responsible for me, and I have to thank you, because you’re doing a great job.”

I saw a hint of a smile on his lips. I thought he was going to respond to what I had just shared with him, but instead he changed the subject.

“So can I be the first to sign your cast?”

I wanted to cross my arms but I was unable to. “Sure, I guess it doesn’t really matter if anyone sees it, now…”

Tony immediately took this confirmation and grabbed a marker, stooping down to reach my white cast. He kneeled to position his hand on it effectively. I could only feel tiny scratches as he signed something on the outside of the thick brace.

When he stood, I hastily looked down at it. He’d only signed his name, but I still raised my eyebrows. The letters were huge and flamboyant… very much _Tony Stark_.

“You’re basically John Hancock!” I complained, gazing at him in the opposite of surprise. He just snickered.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is that _news_ to you? I had the first signature; it always has to be the best.”

I scowled and shook my head, unwilling to show how pleased I was by this.

\---

That night, after Peter cooked us up some grilled cheese with my instruction, which was fun, we sat down to watch a movie together and once our progression in the Harry Potter series was over for the night, I looked over him, noticing how wiped out he seemed.

“Well you look really tired.”

He smiled a bit, sighing. “Yeah, uh… I kinda had a long day. I was up all last night studying and then I had a hard day with school and then there was a lot of… you know. To do for Mr. Stark.”

“You really have been going non-stop today,” I agreed softly. Peter nodded, pulling the legs up on his side of the couch and lying back, smirking. “No, that’s great, just relax. You know, I think it’s a good time for me to share my playlist with you.”

Before I knew it, it was past ten-thirty. I was lying long-ways on the couch with my head against a pillow, perpendicular to Peter as he lay in his seat with his leg holding up my head. We each had one earbud in, listening to music off my phone. I’d put on my most calming songs, and they seemed to be working because I hadn’t heard a word from him so far, and the playlist was almost over. I let the last song play out – _Places We Won’t Walk_ by Bruno Major.

It was a sweet, soothing moment, and I figured there was no way that Peter _wasn’t_ asleep after this one. I might have lost him miles down the road, even. I didn’t care. I wanted to enjoy the moment, the silence, peacefulness of it. The words of the soft song stuck in my ears as the world drifted along, seemingly frozen in time.

It had that soothing quality of a poem from _Where the Sidewalk Ends_ , or something, and I closed my eyes to enjoy it. I figured it was a good lullaby, of sorts. When the song finally ended, I lifted my head and turned around gently to look at Peter. His own head had drooped so far down that it looked entirely uncomfortable. One thing was for certain, and it was that Peter was very much asleep.

I had no desire to wake him, so I got up meticulously and with the softest movements possible, trying not to touch him whatsoever when I sneakily snatched the earbud out of his ear. His spidey senses obviously mandated an extreme level of quiet, or else he’d get disturbed by the slightest sound.

Poor guy. He surely needed the rest.

I found my crutches and placed them under my arms for support. I turned off most of the lights on the floor, save for the kitchen light, which I always kept on just in case.

I glanced over my shoulder on the trip to my bedroom to ensure Peter was still sleeping, and he was. I sat on my bed and allowed my phone to illuminate the small space in front of me.

_Hey, Pepper, I’m sorry to bother you if you’re awake but I didn’t want to ask Tony. Peter fell asleep on the couch and I don’t want to wake him up to send him home. Could you grab a blanket and cover him for me, please? He just looked really uncomfortable to me. I’m only asking you because Tony would never actually do it and he’d probably be mad. Crutches are hard to manage._

_Sure, no problem! It’s done. And that is the SWEETEST thing I’ve ever heard of. It can be our secret. x_

I bit my lip and grinned to myself after receiving Pepper’s text. Getting into my own bed that night, a giddy feeling just took over me until I drifted off to sleep.

\---

(the night before graduation)

_I was just having a normal, forgettable dream right up until Thanos stepped out of the portal. I was absolutely done with it. This time it was different than any of my other similar nightmares. This time I didn’t know where the team was. All I knew was that Tony was beside me, now._

_“The multiverse is in a weaker state than ever before. I’ve made use of it so far, but soon I will right this imbalance. It will have nothing to create strife in it any longer.”_

_“You’re delusional if you think_ this _is the solution!” I spat. It was weird how dream-me knew his plan, but in reality, I didn’t. My line also sounded totally cliché for these types of movies._

_“Oh, little one, you are mistaken. In time you will see how truly outmatched you are and to prevent further loss, you will come to me. Willingly.”_

_Tony sneered and yelled, “Get out of my head!”_

_Thanos only smirked and shimmered away as the scene changed. I exhaled a breath of relief, but it didn’t last long. Suddenly I heard someone yelling for help and Tony, who was still with me, rushed into a building that was in front of us. I followed him immediately._

_It sounded like a little girl crying, and inside we found a small child pleading for help. At first I didn’t know why, but before I could process it, the building that had previously been standing quite soundly was crumbling under our feet._

_“Get up there and help her down to me,” Tony urged me, shaking me out of my fear. I nodded and hurried toward the girl, climbing over what seemed like mountains of shifting concrete beneath me. What had been a regular building was now a parking garage, but I didn’t think about this. It seemed completely normal in my dream._

_Once I aided the girl and she reached the ground, Tony helped her out and I didn’t have enough time to escape before I fell, trapped behind the shifting ground that had stuck up like a wall between us. I yelped and was knocked off my feet._

_All of sudden something hit my hand, and I heard Tony’s voice._

_“Point it down and thrust up!”_

_I saw that my hand was covered by a piece of his iron suit, wrapping it like a glove. I was able to fire up the thrusters, aim it downwards and fly up a bit, just over the wall in front of me. In the end I spiraled out of control from the imbalance of power and landed in Tony’s arms, who smirked down at me._

_Then his eyes grew wide and he threw me over more wreckage, away from himself. Another piece of the suit was on my other hand and I managed to fly out of the building using them, but not before I caught a glimpse of the ceiling caving in on him._

_“Tony!” Suddenly the building was gone and I closed my eyes, wishing that I hadn’t seen that and could somehow remove it from my memory._

_When I opened my eyes the thought of what I’d seen disappeared, because Peter had rushed to hug me._

_“Oh my gosh, I’ve been looking all over for you, are you okay?”_

_I nodded and looked around. We were standing on a relatively empty street, and I wanted some more details, but there was little to see. It was all very off, to me._

_Then another man stepped up to me, but at first I could only hear a voice._

_“You’re lying. You’re not okay. But you must be. Because a lot depends on you, like a lot. I don’t know you, but I can tell. You have to save us, Sami. You’re our only hope.”_

_I furrowed my brow at the man I recognized when he came into the light, but I didn’t believe it._

_“Doctor?”_

_“I’m sorry, have we met before?”_

I sat up and gasped, unable to get the realistic picture of the dream out of my head. I swung my legs over my bed but hesitated to leave the safety of my bed. There would be no running through the facility this time – if anything it would be speed-crutching.

But the nightmare had left me on a much less traumatizing note than last time. I was less afraid and mostly confused, although the scene of Tony still had me shaken up.

It seemed like every dream of this kind involved me losing Tony or Tony losing me, and yet it was in a different way each time. It was always weird and scary. I hated it very much. Just thinking about it sent very bad feelings all through me. Bad memories. Negative trains of thought. So I focused on what I didn’t understand, instead.

 _Doctor Who_ , seriously? What the _heck_ was that about? I had immediately recognized him from his long brown overcoat and his accent. He had the distinct look and crooked smile and mannerisms of the tenth doctor. Out of all the pictures in my head, the one of him standing in front of me was the clearest.

Except the part where Thanos smirked at Tony. And when he…

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much credibility the entire nightmare lost by that ending. It was exactly the thing my crazy, sleep-deprived mind would dream up. Certain elements were out of place and random. There was _no way_ that was some kind of prediction of the future. No. That theory was now out of the question.

It was probably just the product of my overactive imagination or something. Maybe it was caused by all the trauma I’d gone through recently. I needed to find a hobby. But for now, what I needed most was to get all of this out of my head once and for all and relax.

I did that the best way I knew how, by pulling out my phone and looking through my old pictures, remembering how I’d acquired each of them.

_“Hey, could I… get a picture of you? I don’t have many on my phone and I think it’s a good idea to have some, just to look back on later.”_

_Peter looked a little caught off guard at first, but then agreed. “Oh, sure.”_

_I took out my phone and stood a few feet away from him. I was able to snap a good one of his smile. That was another thing. The sight of him smiling, showing his teeth and wrinkling his eyes… it was a sight that made me feel really, really happy. I knew I’d be keeping this forever._

_“Oh, come on, you gotta get in one,” Peter complained sheepishly, pulling my phone away into his grasp. He held it out and pulled me over to him. We smiled and the moment was captured forever. I laughed a bit, looking up at him._

_“Now I need you to come and help me get Tony to participate.”_

_The two of us headed down to his lab and promptly interrupted whatever he was doing with his tech toys._

_“Tony,” I announced snarkily. “I need you to get in a picture.”_

_Tony eyed me. “It would be my pleasure. Who should I make the autograph out to?”_

_I rolled my eyes dramatically. “I just want to take a picture of you…”_

_“For what?”_

_I shrugged. “Just to have. I’d like to get you and Peter together, actually. It’s kinda what normal people do even though I haven’t in a while. They get pictures of people they, uh…”_

_“We get the_ picture _,” Tony said, grinning at his own pun as he stepped back and smiled pointedly. I chuckled and took the picture smugly before he motioned for Peter. “Get over here, kid.” I could tell that he felt awkward about it but Tony ended up putting an arm around the kid for the pose, and his attitude lightened the mood in the room. I ended running over there and getting myself in a selfie. I saw the saved picture of the three of us grinning at the camera. Then Pepper came in, conveniently, and I didn’t know until later that she had secretly photobombed us in one of them._

_“Now I better not find those anywhere on the internet later,” Tony informed me once I had gotten what I wanted. I just smiled._

_“Don’t worry. I would never post these. But I am going to keep them forever.”_

I had been right to keep them like that, because as it turned out… the happy memories put me right to sleep.

\---

Before I knew it, the day before graduation was here. Needless to say I was stressing.

Nah. More like on the verge of a mental breakdown.

My laptop seemed to be keeping me sane, for the moment. I could mindlessly browse the internet and look up memes that kept me happy for the time, but it didn’t last after I finally closed it down. I didn’t know what I needed, but it was something.

I’d woken up after a long night of missing sleep with a lot to think about. There was so much I had to consider about my life, so many decisions I had to make… all within a few months. They were life-changing things, too. Did I want to go to NYU, or Harvard, or community school? What degree would I try for? Would I even go to college? Would I move out? Would I get a job? I had no idea. No guesses, no leads… Anything was technically a possibility because money and grades were not an issue. I just didn’t know where to start.

And what would happen between Peter and me? I scowled. I had probably already messed _that_ up. I read my last text message one more time for good measure, as it had been on my mind all night.

_Hey, I don’t know how to say this without sounding awful, but I think… we’re moving a little too fast for me. I’m not upset, I just think we should stick with being friends for a little longer. It’s probably just because I feel uncomfortable with how Tony has been basically pushing us together. And not that I haven’t been liking it… I just have some stuff to work out._

_Oh, I get it, that’s fine. Let me know if you need anything. Did something happen that I should know about, or something?_

_No, it’s okay. It’s just… one of those days._

I crossed my arms, angry with myself. I didn’t know what to do. This relationship with Peter seemed to be going really well and that was the problem. It was just _too_ good, and that scared me.

What if something happened? What if I got captured again? Or worse? What if I had to move away and start a new life? What if this power changed who I was and made it impossible for me to have a normal life?

There were so many what-ifs… too many to count and answer.

The last thing I wanted was to get hurt, or to hurt Peter. It appeared like any time I made a relationship, it was up in the air whether it would last or not, with _my_ life. I would no longer be able to see him at school every day, unless I chased him to college, which was unlikely. Tony probably wanted me to stay at the facility just to be safe.

I just didn’t know. I needed answers. I figured they would come soon enough, but I still felt like I should know _right now_.

And then, on top of all of this, I couldn’t help but think about my old life. Especially what I was missing there. What my real family was missing. If everything had been normal, I’d be having my graduation there tomorrow, going to my dream college, and starting the life I had always dreamed of.

I didn’t want to imagine what my sister and my dad’s life was like, now. I didn’t want to think about the mourning period they must have gone through for me. We were just starting to get the hang of things. I wondered how long the search for me lasted until they finally gave up.

Gosh, I hoped they were okay. I wished they knew how often I thought of them. I hated to think that I had started this new life and gotten all these things that I would have never gotten access to before. It wasn’t fair.

But I sniffed and tried not to let myself start crying all the way. I’d spent too many nights doing that. I wasn’t a crier, anyways. I could be tough.

It was about time I got up and faced my life… _including_ the unfortunate cards I was dealt. There was no helping it. I had gotten lucky in a bad situation. Now I had a new life that needed my attention.

Yeah… maybe tomorrow I’d give it some of that. Because today I wanted to be sad.

Later that day I had made my way outside and was sitting outside the facility, enjoying the calm air. It was the kind of feeling like you’re trying to be peaceful but something isn’t right. I guessed it was because I was sitting on a bench on the outskirts of what Tony designed to be an _outdoor training area_. There were weapons, weights, dummies… everything that superheroes needed to hone their abilities.

But it had been completely unused. No one was around. It was empty. The area seemed pleasant enough to be filled with plenty of guests, but there were none. I knew exactly why and it was a sad thought, but I held out hope that everything would work out one day.

The loneliness was the point, however. I wanted to have a quiet place where I could get some fresh air and enjoy the solitude. So, I sat in silence and got lost in my own mind.

And after a moment something – or some _one_ – touched my ears and I jumped, but then I heard music. I recognized the song immediately as _Wherever I Go_ by OneRepublic. There was only one person in this world who knew that this was one of my favorite songs on my playlist. I smiled and turned around to see Peter standing behind me.

“Hey, what’s up? What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised.

“I thought you needed some cheering up,” Peter said simply with a shrug.

Another smile tugged at the corners of my mouth and I allowed it to, while enjoying the song in my ears. He sat down next to me and finally I pulled out the earbuds and looked over at him.

“So, this is nice, but… what are you really here for?” I decided to word it that way to avoid sounding rude, as I knew he didn’t come all the way here to let me listen to one song and then sit in silence.

Peter smirked, indifferent in light of my questioning. “Because we’re going on a road trip!”

I folded my lips inwards thoughtfully, furrowing my eyebrows at him. “A _road trip_?” I asked for clarification. “Where?”

He only dangled my keys beside him ambiguously. “You’ll find out. I’m driving. I already got your keys from Mr. Stark, so I basically have his permission to do this. Are you ready to go?”

I sighed good-naturedly and rolled my eyes. “Fine. I guess I am. You really like taking me places blindly, don’t you?”

“I really do,” Peter admitted, causing a laugh to escape my mouth. I supposed in that very instant that this could be a good thing. I had to get my mind off things.

“Today we’re not going to think about _anything_ and we’re just gonna have a fun day, as friends. Deal?”

I nodded and glanced at him gratefully. Somehow he always appeared to know exactly what the best thing was for me at the time. I’d had a hard day so far and the sound of going away for a while seemed better than anything I could have come up with on my own. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken a trip away from the compound recently.

Yeah, I might not have known where we were going, but I knew that I trusted Peter and that we were young. We had our whole lives ahead of us. So what was going to prevent us from going on an adventure today?

“Deal,” I told him, grinning like a fool. And from that moment on I put all the negative thoughts out of my head. At least for as long as possible.

\---

(one Friday night a couple weeks prior)

I had gotten a message that disturbed my nightly reading and asked me to come down to the main floor. I did as I was told, as my curiosity about the cryptic message had taken over me.

I found Tony and Pepper standing there, both looking like they had something on their mind but for different reasons. The billionaire seemed impatient, and his wife looked almost smug but stubbornly unwavering. My mouth stopped half-way open.

“Uh, what’s going on?” I wasn’t surprised to see that Pepper was the one who spoke first.

“Well, I guess this is our version of a gender-reveal party.”

I made a face at her. “You can count me excited, then.”

“And _me_ tired of waiting,” Tony interjected. “You found out this morning, honey. Why are you making us wait this long? We don’t exactly qualify as a party – we’re _two_ people.”

“And that makes it all the more special!”

Tony glowered a bit in her direction, crossing his arms. “I don’t approve of how much you’re clearly enjoying this…”

Pepper led me and the sulking genius out to the balcony on their personal floor. We were both unsure of what to say and she was still glancing at us smugly. Tony tried his hand at guessing what was about to happen as the three of us stared out at the dark yet starry sky.

“Uh, okay. So you hired a sky-writer…”

Pepper scoffed. “And then waited until it was too dark to see it? No.”

Her husband huffed. “Fine. Um… uh…”

I pressed my mouth closed tightly, thinking. It had to have something to do with color. That was how people usually did it. “…Fireworks?”

Pepper’s thrilled expression all but confirmed it for me. She held a finger to her lips and I smiled, looking back out at the sky for a moment. Tony seemed a bit perplexed but suddenly there was the sound of several huge explosions in the distance and flashes of color burst in the night sky. My eyes widened.

The fireworks were bright, fiery blue.

 _Blue_.

It was a boy. They were having a boy.

Tony stuttered. turning from Pepper to the fireworks and then back to Pepper. She merely giggled happily and covered her mouth with her fingertips, eyes wrinkled with a big, emotional smile.

Just as fast as the happy feeling had surged over me, the faster the intrusive feeling emerged. I realized right as Tony approached his wife, caressing her growing stomach and sliding into her kiss, that I and my prying eyes might not have been welcome any longer.

I took the opportunity while the fireworks boomed in the background to make my exit. They still appeared distracted enough.

Later that evening, Tony found me lying long-ways on my couch, lost in my book once again. Sure, I’d read it twice already, but it was my favorite. And I’d forgotten some of the details. Needless to say I was perfectly content, but someone else didn’t seem to think so.

“You know she invited you out there for a reason, right?”

I smirked and swung my legs back over the side of the sofa. “Sorry, I guess I felt a little weird just standing there watching you two. It seemed a little over my personal rating of PG, to be honest.”

He actually laughed. “Well, it’s a given that you had to let us have our moment, but where were you for the past thirty minutes?”

I gestured to my book as if it were obvious. “Reading!”

“Yeah, right. You’re making a point to give us some space because you’re upset that we didn’t include you. A typical teenager thing to think.”

I shook my head. “Actually, I haven’t really gone that far with my thought process. I figured I would get a chance to talk to you about it eventually, and here you are. And I don’t think you’re mad that I’m here, really. I think you wanted to talk to me, yourself. Away from Pepper.”

Tony stared at me skeptically. “Okay, you took _one_ high school credit of psychology and now you think you can… _psychoanalyze_ me?”

I smirked and cut him off. “Hey, I saw your face when those fireworks went off. You were trying to hide it from Pepper, but I think I know what you were feeling because… I felt it, too.” I hesitated, anticipating his immediate disagreement, but he was quiet before urging me on.

“Go ahead,” Tony finally said quickly. I crossed my arms.

“Well, now that we know it’s a boy, that makes it… uh, that much more real. Now it’s more than just a blob inside Pepper – it’s a little human being in there. And within several months he’ll be here and there will be a real baby to take care of. The idea of it was one thing, but now it’s actually coming.”

His eyes trailed away a bit until he huffed. “So maybe that was a _pretty_ effective psychology class…”

I rolled my eyes and changed the subject back to something relevant for as long as I could without his sarcasm. “Look, if you want to talk about it to someone other than Pepper, I’m here, and I get it.”

“But are you actually going to make me feel better about it, or just rub all of this _feelings_ stuff in my face, like you’re doing right now?”

I frowned at him, shrugging. “I’ll try my best.”

At last he sat down and I felt like a guidance counselor or a therapist conducting a session with a patient. It was absolutely one of my proudest moments. I couldn’t screw this up.

“So I guess what I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is when this kid comes, he’ll have all the same problems I do, unless I do something about them. And I’m not sure I can do that. Heck, he’ll have _my_ genes. Which makes it almost certain that he’s going to mess a lot of things up.”

I hummed. “I’m getting that you want to fix everything for him before he gets here. Why?”

Tony seemed a bit uncomfortable, but he forced his next words out. “Because he’s my responsibility. I know I can’t do much for a baby, but I can make a better world for him when he gets older. And if I don’t, all his problems will be on me.”

I furrowed my brow. “What makes you say that? What about your own parents? Sure, you have a lot of problems and some of it was on them, but do you blame them for everything? Is your life completely ruined because of that?”

“No, but… what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that if Ashton is anything like you then he’ll figure his own life out. You don’t have to fix everything for him.”

“I’m _not_ going to be like my dad,” Tony spat swiftly, with hints of anger. I only smiled at him.

“Exactly. You won’t be. Just because of that right there. Maybe you can’t fix everything for him, but I know you’ll do what you can, and it will be fine. He will have so many people around to help, too. Pepper will be a great mom and I don’t think I’ll be a half-bad big sister.”

I seemed to have finally gotten a smile out of him.

“Oh and by the way, I assume you won’t be mad if Ashton gets the inheritance? I know you’re the oldest but I like to mix things up. And honestly even though we haven’t met, I trust him with it more than you. No offense. I really hope this won’t turn into, like, a _Thor and Loki_ sort of thing.”

My jaw was dropped and I sincerely hoped he was joking. I didn’t care about the money, I agreed about that part, since I was not really in the bloodline, but I still did not approve of how rude he sounded.

“I’m not making any promises,” I muttered aggravatedly. “Is this how I’m getting repaid for this session? Do you expect me to give them out for free? Because I don’t think so.”

“Fine. You get a verbal thank-you for your help with this. I do… feel better, I guess. I’m glad I came to this session today. It got a lot off my chest and you were right that I didn’t want Pepper to know about that. You’re a pretty good listener.”

I smiled at him, nodding my satisfaction. I also thought about the growing multitude of secrets I was keeping for Tony from Pepper, and vice-versa. I supposed I was technically the “go-between”.

“No problem. That’s just what I was looking for, dude. Maybe I’ve got a future profession on my hands.”

“At least then you could make a living.”

I scoffed and looked up at him hopefully. “Wait, you weren’t serious about the whole inheritance thing, right?”

Tony gave away nothing and looked all too pleased at my reaction. “I guess you’ll find out eventually, huh?”

I sighed loudly, breathing out all of the air in my chest. “Is this because I was adopted?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I've gotten one comment. I find it hard to believe that no one else has any thoughts. But I'll just keep posting 'cause I don't quite know what to do. Maybe you just all are speechless by how cute and fluffy it is. Yeah. I'll go with that. Enjoy! :-)

It wasn’t long until I was riding in the passenger seat of my shiny silver car with my mending leg propped up on the dash and all thoughts of the future thrown out of the metaphorical and literal window for the day. Peter was driving with his right hand grasping the top of the steering wheel, sending me a smile every now and then as I bopped to the blaring music from my car radio. With Tom’s assistance, I could listen to any song I felt like.

Soon we had made our way out of the city completely, and it felt like a breath of fresh air, not just because the top was down. We were traveling down an almost empty country road, with no settlements, much less skyscrapers, anywhere in sight.

It was the closest to home I’d felt in a while.

“Tom, can you play _On My Way_ by Phil Collins? I don’t know, it seems pretty fitting for this.”

“You got it.”

I smiled and after a moment, I looked over at Peter. “What?” he asked.

I shook my head, looking down for a moment. “I was just thinking that… this is how it’s supposed to be. Regular teenagers can do this all the time. They don’t have to worry about the safety of New York or the, um… _planet_.”

He smirked but it quickly faded. It turned into a long, slow, pensive nod. I turned my attention back out to the road.

“You know, this road feels the most like home I’ve felt so far in this universe. Tony said he’s sending me to Clint’s house, though, so I’m hoping to get some more of this.”

Peter appeared confused. “Clint? You mean… _Hawkeye_? He has a house? I always just assumed he lived somewhere at the compound, or something, and I just never see him.”

I shook my head, smiling a little. “No, he has like, a farmhouse, and everything. Three kids, too.”

“What? _Really_? Have you ever met them?”

“No, not yet. Clint did always talk about inviting us all over for Christmas one year, but that was before the fight happened. I guess my chances of going over there for the holidays kinda got lowered after that.”

“Well, he’s letting you come, now, so that has to mean something.” I considered this.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” My gaze drifted steadily over to the GPS on my dash.

“So are you ever going to let me see where we’re going? Do you even know?”

Peter seemed disconcertingly pleased to reply. “ _I_ know where we’re going, but I’m not going to tell you because I want it to be a surprise. You’ll find out. It’s probably not much to get excited about, anyways…”

It was a good thing that I was enjoying the drive too much to argue.

\---

Tony did have a good bit of pride left, but he figured he could spare to swallow some of it for Sami’s sake. He knew it was going to be like pulling teeth for him, although he still had to get this done.

His phone sat either in his hand or on his desk for an entire day before he stopped putting it off the inevitable and actually sat down to think what he was about to do. He kept telling himself that sides didn’t matter, here. If the fight was brought up, however, he wasn’t so sure he could refrain from immediately hanging up the phone.

Come on, it’d been almost a year since he’d seen the guy. Maybe Tony hadn’t yet let go of the grudge he held against every person on the team who’d chosen Steve over him, but this wasn’t about that. There would come a time when they couldn’t afford to continue this rivalry any longer, and he sensed that that time was beginning to be upon them.

And Sami needed their help, on top of it all.

He decided not to think about it all that much as he clicked the call button and held the cell phone up to his ear. What was about to happen would happen. All he could do was try.

“Please tell me you have a good reason for this. I’d like to think I answered because whatever this is, it must be important.”

“Hey, Clint. Good to hear from you, too.”

“Yeah, been a while, huh? Wonder why that is. So is this just a check-up call, or are you calling in a favor? Because I think I’ll have to turn you down if it’s anything besides the world being in mortal danger.”

Tony sighed. “Could you _not_ be hostile for a second?” He immediately regretted those words as soon as Clint scoffed at him.

“Hostile? You want _me_ to not be _hostile_? Yeah, great joke, really funny. But no really, go on. I want to know what you called for. I won’t hold my breath for anything like an _apology_ …”

“Clint, just hear me out for a second. I’m calling about… about Sami. She’s been having some… well, issues, recently. She was kidnapped a few weeks ago and apparently the guy had her beat pretty bad when she tried to fight him off. What she needs is someone to show her how to fight properly, for next time. Just in case there _is_ a next time.”

“Okay, so you want me to give her self-defense lessons, then?”

“Great inference, Sherlock.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just confused about why you would call _me_ , when self-defense classes can be found anywhere for cheap. And even if the money was an issue for you, it would still cost less than your pride for calling me up.”

Hot anger bubbled in Tony’s throat at the sound of this and he bit back another harsh comment. “Look, I’m calling you for Sami’s sake. Not for anything else. She can’t do regular classes like that because she’s… different. You’ll find out. I get it that you want nothing to do with me, but I thought you cared about her, too. That’s a common ground, here. You know, we used to be friends, if you can remember back that far.”

“Oh, that’s weird because when I look up the definition of the word friend, it doesn’t say anything about fighting your friends and having them locked up, away from their families, over a _difference of opinions_. And it also doesn’t say anything about siding with the government over them. But best friends forever, right?”

“I was wrong,” he spat. “I get it. I made mistakes that day. No one was innocent in that scenario. The… _majority_ of it was my fault. I jumped to conclusions. I didn’t think a lot of things through. I thought I could trust Ross. I thought I could trust – you know what, never mind. This isn’t about us. If you care about Sami at all, you’ll do this for her.”

Clint was quiet for what seemed like the first time so far in the duration of their phone call. And then he finally spoke.

“Yeah, fine, I’ll help her. You can send her over here anytime as long as I get a chance to warn Laura first.”

“By the way, how’s uh… how’s the family?” Tony had never been one for small talk, but dang it, he still cared about the archer who had once been a part of his team.

“They’re doing okay, actually. Yours?”

“Uh, we’re going to have some… _changes_ here pretty soon.”

“Changes? How?”

“I’m sure you’ll get all the gossip soon enough from Sami, right?”

“You’re probably right.”

“Clint, thanks. For doing this, you know, for Sami.”

“Well, I’m learning that there’s not many things I’m good for anymore. Fighting is one of the few things I can help with.”

\---

Suddenly Peter made the turn by a wooden sign, a dead giveaway to me of where we must have been headed. Only national parks had such woodsy, beautiful signs like that. I looked at him excitedly.

“Is this what I think?”

“Depends on what you think it is, and if… you’re happy about it.”

I smirked. “I definitely am.”

“Then it _totally_ is,” he assured me smugly.

“Uh, so how are we going to work this, though? I can’t exactly go hiking, or anything,” I said, looking pointedly at my cast. Peter brushed this off.

“You can do _other_ stuff to enjoy the park.”

I realized what he was implying within minutes when he parked the car beside a huge, empty field. Scattered park-goers roamed through it but other than that, we were completely alone. It also was growing clearer by the second that crutching through grass was physically impossible for longer than a few seconds.

“Peter,” I announced as I struggled. “They keep getting caught…”

He analyzed my situation and didn’t seem to have to think about the solution at all before he had scooped me up and began carrying me across the grassy field, abandoning my crutches where I had stood. I made sounds of protest at first and then finally gave in.

It was sweet, I had to admit it.

Before a few minutes had passed, we were lying in the middle of the bare field. The sun was setting slowly by this time and I was watching the few clouds that were left roll by. Peter did the same. It was quiet between us for a long time, but not the uncomfortable kind of silence. I was just thinking and soaking in the fresh air. The whole world seemed still and at peace.

“You definitely can’t get this in Manhattan,” I remarked. “The air is actually clean and not full of pollution. And you can see the, uh, _sky_.”

“Like it?” asked Peter sarcastically, as he inhaled. I nodded.

“Yeah… you know how you said we weren’t going to think about… _anything_ today?”

He let out a soft, breathy laugh. “You’ve been thinking, haven’t you?”

“Uh, yeah… I couldn’t help it. And I have to ask you first before I get into it. Where are you planning to go to college?”

He turned his head to the left to look at me abruptly. I stopped him before he could reply. “Like, for real. Be honest. Don’t think about where I would want to go or what other people want. Nothing like that. Think about _you_.”

He closed his mouth and clenched his jaw. “Well, to be honest… I’ve been thinking about, uh… MIT. Mr. Stark did tell me one time that he had some “pull” there… I was hoping I could make it happen.”

I nodded. “That’s what I expected. And that’s great, Peter.”

He quickly backtracked as soon as the words exited my mouth. “But I mean, you could come, too. I’m not saying you have to come to college with me, not if you don’t want to. I… I just think you could do well there and—”

“I think I could, too, but I won’t. MIT doesn’t really have anything I want to do. I wouldn’t want to take that away from someone else’s dreams just because Tony can get me in with his connections.”

Peter was clearly disappointed to hear this. “Then… what are you thinking?” I had to try my best not to smile because I didn’t want to give it away instantly.

“Uh, just Boston University. It’s only, like, a mile away from MIT and even Harvard. It’s a little smaller and not made for geniuses, so… just my style.”

He actually looked thrilled to hear this but tried to play it off with a bunch of rapid-fire questions. “Really? Cool. That’s actually a really good plan, Sami. Are you sure? Have you already made up your mind? Wait… what about Mr. Stark? Isn’t he going to be upset that you’re going to be so far away?”

I shrugged and shook my head. “He’ll have to get used to it. It’s only a three-hour drive, and even less than that if he decided to, like, _fly_ there.”

Peter laughed and bit his lip, making me blush. And then he became a little more serious.

“So, in the car on the way to prom… you said that you weren’t sure what you wanted to do anymore. Did you really mean that? Because I guess you were sorta distracted.”

I took a deep breath as this had been on my mind a lot recently. “I don’t know, I think I’m having trouble committing. Just because every time I seem to have my life worked out, a wrench gets thrown in my plans. I don’t know what’s going to happen with my power, with school, with the team, with Tony… it’s all kind of a lot right now and I don’t want to get set on something and then be disappointed when it doesn’t work out the way I planned. You know? I feel like that sounds really weird, but—”

“No. No, that doesn’t sound weird. That’s a smart way of looking at it, I guess. I feel the same way, sometimes, but I don’t want that to stop me from having a life outside of… this.”

I pursed my lips. “You’re right. That’s fair.”

As I watched him, Peter seemed pretty nervous about what he was about to say, but after a moment he just came out with it.

“Is this non-committing stuff… does it have to do with the text you sent me?”

I chewed on the inside of my lip contemplatively. I chose an answer that seemed the most honest and reassuring, while also making my thought-process clear to him.

“You know how sometimes you get an idea, late at night, and you decide that it’s your only option and that you have to go through with it, so you come with this plan that you think you have to go through with… And then you wake up the next morning and realize how crazy the idea was? And immediately regret ever thinking of it because it was definitely _not_ the right thing to do? Because that’s what it was like.”

Peter didn’t appear to get what I was saying right away, but then it seemed to dawn on him what I meant, and he looked beyond relieved as he turned his head back to stare straight up at the sunset, fighting back a smile. He crossed his arms behind his head.

“Oh. _Oh_. Okay, then. Uh, great. I’m glad.”

I smiled too and got lost in the calmness of the moment, as the two of us watched a few clouds drift by. I knew it would be dark soon, and that we’d have to leave quickly after that, but I didn’t even worry about it because I wanted to see the stars.

\---

Frankly, I was dreading the moment that was drawing near… when I was able to take my cast off. Because that meant that my leg was better, and after a couple weeks of therapy, I could walk normally, since it was basically healed up.

It was the only thing Tony was waiting for.

“Hey, how’s the leg?”

I didn’t know why I looked down at it when Tony asked me this over the video chat on the clear monitor in my bedroom. I could feel it. “It’s okay. It hurts a little when I walk but it’s getting better.”

He was reluctant to reply and the silence continued until I looked up at him expectantly. I figured my attempt to make it sound worse than it was had failed.

“Would you say you’re about ready for your little trip?”

I crossed my arms, knowing precisely what he was saying. “Maybe… why?”

“Because I’m thinking tomorrow is the day. This shouldn’t be put off any longer than it has to.”

I stammered in shock. “Tomorrow? But, I can’t leave _tomorrow_ , I have… so much to do and… I haven’t mentally prepared myself for this, yet.”

He merely smirked. “Rip the bandage off, kiddo.”

I made a disappointed face at him and diverted his attention. “How did you even plan this, anyway? I assume you had to talk to him? How did that go?”

Tony sighed heavily. “Better than it could have gone, I guess, but still pretty bad. Part of me expected him to hang up on me. You should be proud, though. I felt like a children’s dentist.”

I grimaced. “That painful, huh?”

“You don’t even wanna know. But I was patient and accepted all of the yelling. Pretty much.”

I found myself smiling at him. “I am proud of you, then. Sounds like a real feat. Honestly.”

He looked down. “Yeah, well… we’re not the only ones put in a tough spot. He… and so did I, I guess… made it clear that the only reason he was talking to me was for _you_. You were the only thing that brought us together for a few minutes.”

“I’m honored,” I scoffed lightly.

“No, Small Fry, I’m serious. You are perhaps the only person in this situation who is unaffected, because you didn’t have to… choose. And it’s different because you still have relationships with us and the whole team cares about you.”

“What do you mean? Why are you telling me this? I think I get all of that.”

“Because I don’t want you to mess it up.” I gave a start.

“Why would I ever do that?”

“Well, you have reason to be mad at… _most_ of us, and I don’t know how you feel because we’ve never really talked about what happened, but I don’t want you to pick sides now that you’re seeing Clint again. I don’t think you’d do it on purpose… but I don’t want you talking bad about me. Obviously. Because that would screw everything up that I’m trying to do. And… I also don’t want you telling him that you agree with my side of things. You’re the middle-man… _woman_ , now, and if we ever have to get the team back together, you’re officially our best chance of not _hating_ each other when that time comes.”

I was astonished by how much thought was obviously behind this conclusion. I didn’t know the proper way to answer this, so I just nodded sheepishly.

“Uh, right. Sure. That’s probably a good idea.”

I spent the majority of my remaining time at the facility rushing around frantically, packing everything in sight and trying to keep my cool. It was only three weeks. Clint was a super chill guy. He liked me. It’d be nice. He lived on a farm, for crying out loud. I could meet his kids. I wasn’t going to think about the fighting, not now. A lot of other _great_ stuff could happen in that amount of time.

Stinking crap darn it, it was going to be _fine_. Excuse my language there.

I kept telling myself that the size of my problems was miniscule in comparison to the things that the team dealt with every day. I was going to get through this. Maybe Clint would help me out with other stuff, too.

Or maybe he’d resent me for staying with Tony.

I mentally slapped myself. He knew I couldn’t help it. He had to. I thought of what he would tell me if he knew how I was freaking right now. What he had already told me.

_Come on, kid. You want me to stop calling you a kid? Then stop acting like one._

I still hadn’t seen him in over a year. He could have changed, for all I knew. I had no reference from a recent movie to give me an idea of what he was doing, now.

Somehow I managed not to think about these things too deeply, because I was suddenly in the main cabin of Tony’s private jet, being flown out to Clint’s house in Iowa and accompanied by none other than Happy. To pass the time – because Tony’s assistant wasn’t exactly helpful about the lack of conversation – I texted Peter and plugged in my music. Because what was a plane owned by Tony Stark if it didn’t have cell reception at thirty-five thousand feet?

_So I’m definitely going to come back as a farm hand. At least that’s what Tony is pushing for._

_I won’t be mad_

_Really? Cause I might be_

_No, that’d be cool_

_What’s funny is that it would be much closer to how I grew up than living at the compound_

_I’m still waiting for stories about that_

_OH by the way, have I ever told you about the time I wrestled an alligator?_

_What??_

  1. _But I did know people who basically had before. So it counts._



We arrived after a little over a two-hour flight, which wasn’t bad, and the jet actually landed in Clint’s backyard, reminding me of the scene from _Age of Ultron_ , only much less cool.

He was there to help carry my bags. I felt good about it; I only brought three bags for the extended stay, but he _had_ to comment about it.

“What, did you bring your entire _room_ with you?”

I pouted. “Hey, I consolidated it pretty nicely, I think. One bag per week is _not_ too much.”

“Right.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. He always fusses at me whenever we go anywhere if I bring more than one bag.”

Laura’s warm, friendly smile met me within seconds and I reflected it instantly. She had opened the door for us as we made our way up the steps and across the porch to the front of the house. I heard the roar of jet engines and watched trees and grass blow from the forces of the ascending jet that was about to take off into the sky.

I shot one last glimpse at the futuristic vehicle before turning away and taking a step into the farmhouse, which seemed to be the opposite of where I’d lived for almost three years, now.

Once inside, I exhaled as I set my bags down beside me. Clint, still holding one bag of mine, turned to face me. I noticed the family standing before me, complete with the husband, wife, and three children.

The “smaller agents”, I recalled, as Tony had suggested they were at first.

“Uh, sorry, these are our kids. Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel. Guys, this is Sami, the girl I told you would be staying with us for a while.”

I made sure to smile and wave kindly at the kids. The two older ones returned the gesture timidly while the toddler hugged on to his mother’s knees and sucked his thumb bashfully. I wrinkled my nose at the sight. It seemed almost unfamiliar and new. I hadn’t spent time with kids, much less such a functioning family, at all in this universe.

“Uh, so where should we put her stuff?”

“Oh, right. Well, I thought she could share Lila’s room,” Laura answered slowly. “It is the biggest and since we don’t have an extra room, I could fit another twin in there and… you know, if that’s okay with you.”

I smiled brightly and locked eyes with Lila. Clint was already bustling down the hall, gesturing for me to follow. The younger girl seemed reluctant, but I assured her by nodding confidently. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a sleepover with another girl, regardless of their age. So this already had the makings of a great stay.

“Actually, I’d really like that.”

\---

(mid-June 2016)

Really, it took a lot of courage for me to even enter Tony’s lab that evening. I had been spending my summer taking a few classes and otherwise relaxing, but this morning I’d realized what day it was. I felt obligated – in a good way, though – to do something for Tony. Not anything too crazy, I figured. Just something to show that I remembered and to make him feel appreciated.

But what could someone get the man who had everything, for Father’s Day?

I did the only thing I could think of that wasn’t overly sappy and could really be slightly humorous. All I day I pictured him looking at it and smiling to himself, and that made the thought worth it. It really wasn’t much.

All I had to was get a particular picture from my camera printed out, frame it, and write a little note to go with it. I held in my hands what was, in my opinion, the perfect picture of the two of us.

I had been sitting in a swivel chair on the left of Tony’s main work desk, turning the camera to point at him while also getting myself in the shot. I had swiped his glasses from beside him while he wasn’t looking and wore them shamelessly, getting selfies because they definitely looked amazing on me. He was sitting on the other side of the desk, in front of his array of holographic screens.

_“I don’t like being caught off guard for pictures. I don’t even do it for fans, you know.”_

_“And so you won’t do it for me?”_

_“No.” I huffed at him exasperatedly._

_“Come on. Just smile. One time.”_

_Tony pouted and shoved his chin into his fist, as his elbow rested on the flat surface before him. I snapped that one, but it wasn’t what I was looking for._

_“Why are you even messing with me? Can’t you see I’m busy?”_

_“Please just act like you’re happy. Think of something positive, try not to look so tired and hateful and let me get a good selfie. Besides, I only do this, like, once a year.”_

_Finally Tony sat up, grabbed his coffee mug, pointed to it, and gave the brightest, most excited smile I’d ever seen from him. I ended up laughing so hard that it made it difficult to hold the phone steady enough to get a clear picture._

I could easily remember how this photo had come about and it made me smile. It seemed even better now that I held it in my hands. His face was so classically Tony, so much that it reminded me of the fake, happy smile that he’d given to many fans before. However, my laughing expression in the picture made up for it completely.

I took a pen and wrote a note on the back of the photograph before sticking it in its frame.

_(Sorry there’s no card. I thought this pretty much counts.)_

_Since it’s Father’s Day, I figured I should do something for you. I hope you like the picture but I don’t expect you to hang it up or anything. I just thought it would be cool to have._

_Anyways, I don’t know if you were expecting anything from me but this isn’t much. It’s just a thank you for all that you’ve done for me. I know I don’t say it often because it’s hard sometimes, but nothing you do for me goes unappreciated. So thanks, for everything. Happy Father’s Day!_

_Love,_

_Sami x_

I sauntered into Tony’s lab that night with this framed picture in my grasp, clutched by my side and out of his sight for the moment.

“Hey, Tony, what’s up?”

It was then that I realized what I’d forgotten. He was all dressed up in a black suit with a matching bow tie. I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

“Oh, right. The gala’s tonight, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he replied absentmindedly. “You’ll never guess who I’m still waiting on. She’s the one usually waiting on _me_.”

Suddenly Pepper appeared next to him, dressed in an elegant, flowing ballgown. Tony looked smitten, but she wasn’t having it.

“Excuse me, I’ve been ready for twenty minutes, Mister _let-me-finish-up-one-last-thing_. And we’re already late. It’s supposed to be starting right now.”

“Correction – we’re going to be a little more than fashionably late. Just how I like it. Besides, they can’t start without me—uh, _us_ there.”

Pepper smirked self-righteously. “Right.”

“Did you need something, Small Fry?”

I stuttered to reply, although I didn’t hesitate to shake my head with lightning speed. I shoved my hands behind my back to hide the picture I was still holding. “Um, no. I just came to… uh, bother you. It’s okay. You guys need to leave.”

Tony almost seemed to want to pry, being unconvinced by my answer, but he evidently chose not to and the both of them said their goodbyes before heading off to their fancy gala for the meeting. I scowled once they were gone, because who knew what time they would be back?

I finally elected to leave the frame on Tony’s desk with a sticky note, labeling it for him. On it I wrote _For_ _Tony_ with a little heart and placed it right where he could easily find it.

Part of me was disappointed, but another part of me was relieved that I didn’t have to awkwardly give it to him in person. It felt weird. Nice, but weird.

I didn’t hear anything about it until the next morning, until I noticed that I had a missed video call from Tony.

“Hey, kid, what time did you go to bed last night?”

“Uh, like eleven or something. I was asleep when you called. You got back late, huh?”

“Yeah…” He trailed off a bit before changing the subject. “So did you leave this picture here yesterday?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, it was Happy.”

Tony crossed his arms. “You know, I _thought_ that was his hand-writing… the heart really gave it away.” I frowned at him and he waved it off.

“Just making sure you would own up to it. You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know, I wanted to. It was always a special tradition back home. I thought I could keep it going. I get that it’s kind of a silly picture, but it’s the best one I have.”

“No, I like it.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm. Thanks, kid. And what do you mean, you don’t expect me to hang this up anywhere? I absolutely will, now. For spite reasons, of course.”

“Of _course_.”

I didn’t ever find out what exactly he did with that picture until about a week later when I couldn’t sleep. I decided to go check on Tony, who was unresponsive to both FRIDAY and my video calls.

I found him sound asleep, face down on his desk, breathing heavily out of his open mouth, and completely unaware of my presence. I smirked, trying to think of what to do about it, and then something caught my eye.

To his right stood my framed photo, on his center desk, in the perfect spot to see it every day. I bit my lip.

I’d call that a successful gift.

\---

It was a perfect day for this. That spring the snow had all finally melted, but there were remnants of the winter chill left in the form of a cool breeze. There was still a lot of sunshine peering through the trees above us, but the light was diminishing as the sun set. As I inhaled, though, my chest seemed heavy, and Peter must have noticed that something was bothering me.

“You’re not done thinking, are you?”

I sighed. “I know you didn’t want to do this, but I’ve had a lot on my mind. Really. Last night was one of those nights that I just couldn’t shut my brain off.”

“That’s… understandable. You’ve got a lot to think about lately.”

“Well… it’s not just that, though. I’ve been thinking a lot about my, uh, family, recently.”

“Oh.” His face darkened a bit, but he kept pressing instead of shutting down. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

I grimaced. I knew he’d ask that question. The problem was that I wasn’t sure of my answer, yet. “Uh… I feel really bad whenever I think about complaining. Especially around all of you guys. I feel like I have nothing to complain about when I see others around me. People like you, and Tony, and all of the team… they’ve all lost just as much, if not _more_ , than me.”

Peter made a thoughtful face at me. “Well, I’m just going to tell you what Aunt May told me when I was younger, whenever I was having a hard day. She always used to hug me and say that no feeling is a bad feeling, and that whatever it was, I needed to get it out.”

I inhaled. His Aunt May had a real point. I’d just been bottling up all these feelings… I needed to talk to someone about them. Peter continued.

“So I don’t have any problem with you complaining, but if you still feel guilty about it, just do it for all of us who’ve lost people. Because I don’t think your feelings are much different, or bad.”

He was absolutely right. I had to get this out, somehow, someway. And I couldn’t think of anyone better to share this with. Also, the timing was impeccable.

“Well, I just feel really worried about my family, back home. I keep feeling like I left them, like I did the selfish thing… it was a time when they really needed me. When we needed each other. And I just left them because I was…. scared. Now I can never see them again. And I feel so bad for thinking about that because it seems like I’m not grateful for what I have, but… I have to remember them. It was my life, you know? Yeah, I feel like I’ve adjusted pretty well to this, but it’s not like it was. It’s not… what it’s _supposed_ to be.”

Peter breathed out heavily and nodded without hesitation. “I feel like that all the time. With my parents, with these powers… it really has changed a lot.”

I sniffed and tried not to get too emotional. “It’s not that I’m not grateful for what I do have, because I am. Really. The problem is just that I don’t know how to manage any of this. I’m missing my dad and my sister, especially. I’ve got another dad now, I guess, but I did lose a… really good friend. I could always relate to my sister. And I think that’s why I got attached to you, because we can relate to each other. But I always thought I’d grow up and go to college near my family and then be a teacher and take things slow before maybe moving away and getting married or something… and now my life is like… scrambled eggs. No, really. It’s all mixed up from the way I thought it’d be and I guess I just… miss it.”

His gaze straightened into the sky and I took a deep breath. The air filled my lungs that felt empty and weightless, now that I had gotten this all out, at last. I closed my eyes to think but they shot back open when I felt something.

Peter had gripped my hand.

It was contact I’d been without for so long that I’d forgotten the serenity it sent through you.

I knew I’d told him that I wanted to take it slow, but I had mostly retracted that statement and this wasn’t anything too… romantic. It was a friendly, comforting gesture.

His hand was warm and soft as it gripped my own. The feelings I felt now were raw and caring, and I completely embraced them.

Apparently Peter didn’t know what to say, but he did not have to. I understood the unspoken truth – that he got me, that it was okay, and that we’d get through it. Together.

I collected what was left of my daring moment and turned my head to the right to look him dead in the eye. His deep brown eyes steadily held my gaze, squinting the slightest bit.

And then he smiled at me.

\---

It didn’t take long to get accustomed to life at Clint’s place. The house was roomy and yet cozy, in a weird way that made perfect sense in my head. All three kids were already in bed and I was sitting on the couch with my legs crossed, reading a book I’d brought for my down time. Laura was in the kitchen making some hot chocolate and Clint was clearing off the table. It had been covered with small books and various art supplies.

“You know, I’ve been teaching the kids a little sign language recently. I’ve been having some issues with my hearing lately. I want them to be prepared for if it gets any worse, because it’s getting pretty bad.”

“Oh, really? I haven’t really noticed.”

“What?”

I smirked at him knowingly, after that convenient little slip-up. But he shook his head.

“No, really. You haven’t noticed because I read lips a lot of the time. Since I’m over here, I can’t see your lips very well.”

I swallowed and subconsciously raised the volume of my voice. This was familiar to me, as I had some knowledge of Clint’s character having a lot to do with hearing loss. “Oh. Got it. I’ll remember that. Also, I took a few ASL classes in high school so I’m sure I can keep up. At least a little bit.”

Clint didn’t say anything, but just nodded his affirmation. I decided to continue the subject while I had the chance.

“How are they doing with it? Lila and Cooper.”

“Cooper’s really getting it, Lila’s still working at it, and Nate even knows basic words, now. So I guess I have hope.”

I smiled and all of a sudden someone knocked loudly on the door, shaking me from my intense reading and the conversation. I turned and looked at it, and Clint was already moving to open it.

“Now I guess you’ll get to see what we _really_ do once the kids are in bed.”

“What, harbor internationally wanted criminals?”

Three figures entered through the front door and were suddenly standing inside the house, right beside where I was sitting. A female voice had spoken – I realized that a light blonde Natasha was one of them, smirking very visibly at Clint, who shrugged in return.

“I was going more for _helping out some old friends_ , but that works, too.”

I studied the guests, all of whom caused my jaw to drop. One of them I hadn’t met, yet, but I knew exactly who it was. Sam Wilson, also known as Falcon, one of Captain America’s closest allies.

Speaking of which… he was right there. Steve looked… well, _older_. More care worn. Different from the hopeful, confident leader Steve that had come to my house a few years ago. Like he’d seen some stuff. But he didn’t look bad, though. Just not how I was used to seeing him.

His beard certainly helped with that. I supposed he was going for that _refugee_ look.

All of their clothes were dark and they seemed like they’d been on the run for quite a while.

I quickly stood after taking a millisecond to process all of this. Soon Steve’s blue eyes landed on me. He curtly nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Sami.” I tried my best to keep it together and play it cool.

“Uh, hi, Steve.” Yep. Totally nailed it.


	11. Chapter 11

I was sitting on the ground, sulking. Clint had laid out training mats around a space he’d cleared out in his barn and we were using it as the area where he’d teach me how to fight. But he’d just knocked me on my butt and I was anything but happy about it.

“Come on, I’ll help you up when you actually need it.”

I made a disappointed face at him and grudgingly stood, rubbing my sore bottom. “Look, you could be a little nicer about this.”

He just shrugged. “I’m just trying to make it realistic. If this were a real fight then you would _absolutely_ have to get your own self off the ground.”

I breathed out and readied myself for more impact. I had my hair in a loose ponytail, wore a gray tank over dark sweatpants and was barefoot on the mat. It was dark outside but the barn was lit up nicely so that it felt warm and calm inside. Well, it would have felt that way if Clint hadn’t been fighting me.

He had already taught me how to throw a punch, and I was working at it but all the while he continued to change it up and throw me off. It’s like the intensity was always increasing before I could really master anything. I felt completely unprepared for all of this and had voiced my opinion multiple times so far by muttering “this is not fair” over the course of the evening.

I decided to do it again for two strong reasons – I was tired of this and also I wanted to stall.

“Clint, this really isn’t fair, though,” I told him. “You’re so much bigger than me because I’m small, so of _course_ you’ll get the advantage every time.”

He was unfazed by my complaint, stopping only just for a moment. “Uh-huh. And… how much bigger was this guy who kidnapped you, exactly?”

I scratched the back of my neck uncomfortably, realizing his point. “Um… actually he was probably even bigger than you.”

“Right. Listen, kid, the sooner you realize that life isn’t fair, because it isn’t, the better off you’ll be. You don’t get everything perfectly at first, not the way you want it. A good skill to learn is how to take things and turn them to your advantage. It’s not about being bigger or smaller than your opponent – it’s about fighting smart. Use my force against me. Anticipate my every move and _match_ it.”

_The previous night I’d been sitting at the table with Natasha and Clint, and the subject of training me to fight had somehow come up, so I dared to ask her if she would help us with it. You know, since she was a female and everything, I figured I could get better tips from her than from the archer._

_“Oh, no, you don’t want to know what I know. My style of fighting… well, I learned it from a bad place. I didn’t exactly start from the right roots like you are. You’d be better off sticking with Clint. He can teach you how to fight clean. You know, the basics.”_

_“Excuse me, are you saying that your style is more complicated than mine?”_

_“I think that’s exactly what I’m saying.”_

_“Well—”_

_“Look, the goal is for Sami to learn to defend herself, right? You’re the man for the job. Tony sent her over here to you, not to me.”_

_I piped in. “Nat’s probably right.” She looked at me and seemed pleased, while Clint just crossed his arms as she went on._

_“Any time you need anything else, though… I got your back. We have to look out for each other, right?”_

I remembered what she had told me last night and it sent a glad, relieved feeling through me. I easily recalled and would never forget the bonds I’d built with the team during the time they had been in my universe, so much that they had taken me with them, and I felt close to them in a way, but it was only now that I had reassurance that they did, too. It was strange, but it felt beyond fulfilling to know that I had friends other than Tony and Peter.

And maybe Clint could be added to this list, just as soon as I got over what a jerk he was definitely being to me.

I kept on fighting him, trying my best, but it was something I was not used to whatsoever and he seemed to expect me to get it right my first time. I was growing frustrated by the minute and couldn’t seem to get the upper hand at all.

I tried again. I charged him and went for a right hook but he caught it, twisted my arm which made me whimper in pain, and used this opportunity to jab my side and sweep me off my feet in a split second. Yeah, I was laid out once again. Clint smirked over me and my grumbling grew even louder.

“Why are you doing this to me? It’s like you think I’m going to master this in one night. All you’ve done is show me how to punch and I don’t know anything else. I’ve never done this before. Doesn’t it, like, take practice, and stuff?”

Finally he helped me up, and I hoped he was starting to feel bad, but he didn’t show it in his answer.

“Well, I’m just checking you out, because Tony said there was a reason why he couldn’t put you in regular defense classes. I’m seeing what could be different about you. So far, I got nothing.”

I sighed deeply, now sure of what Tony meant. But I knew it had nothing to do with this.

“Look, I don’t know why everyone expects me to be different, because I really _am_ normal. Just because I came here with you guys doesn’t make me automatically special—”

“Yes, it does.”

I snapped my head up to look at who’d just spoken, and I was taken aback to see Steve standing at the entrance of the barn. I held my breath momentarily and he apologized for interrupting.

“Hope you don’t mind; I just came to watch. I won’t say anything else.”

I gulped as the soldier said nothing more and proceeded to cross his arms and watch us from a distance. I really tried my best to ignore him, but now I was on edge about the whole thing, knowing that I was being watched and probably judged by none other than Steve Rogers.

Clint continued our conversation, to my chagrin.

“I gotta agree with Cap on this one. I know Tony. And I know what the rest of us thought about you. We wouldn’t have let him bring you here if we hadn’t all seen something different. You’re special, you have to realize that. When we landed in your universe, something happened. The Avengers needed you. And you needed us. We became a team. So basically… the moment you stepped through that portal, you became an Avenger.”

My eyes grew wide, and Steve spoke up, not moving from his position.

“Barton’s right.”

I stuttered and didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t think I needed to. Not yet.

This confirmation made me feel all kinds of wonky, complicated emotions. Happiness and excitement and also fear and extreme pressure. I had a lot to live up to, now. Before I could move or get a word out, Clint took a step back.

“Uh, what just happened? Your eyes flashed, like, gold, and your hands are glowing.”

I smirked and suddenly an idea washed over me. “Hey, let’s try that again.”

I stood and got into position, as Clint did, although wary this time. My tightly balled fists were giving off a golden light, and I shot a glance back at Steve who seemed very amused, now, waiting to see what would happen. I heard the archer’s words in the back of my head.

_“… take things and turn them to your advantage. It’s not about being bigger or smaller than your opponent – it’s about fighting smart. Use my force against me. Anticipate my every move and match it.”_

His advice had turned out to not be so bad. _Anticipate_. Okay. I could do this.

This time, Clint reached forward first and went for a solid punch. Somehow I saw exactly what he was going to do in my head and was able to quickly dodge it and send a sharp chop up to his neck, choking him out a bit. Then when he swung back to throw another punch with his opposite arm, I thrust my hand forward onto his chest and blasted him back with energy from my palm on contact. Clint almost tumbled all the way backward but was able to keep his footing – the only repercussion was that he had to backtrack a bit. I used this my advantage once he began to approach me once again.

I didn’t know how it was possible, but I could see exactly where his foot would land even before he had moved an inch. It was like seeing probabilities, like usual, yet this time I didn’t want to change it. I wanted to use the knowledge to my advantage. So at the perfect time I kicked his leg out from under him, causing him to hit the mat with a thud and a surprised groan.

Coming out of that moment and into reality, realizing what I’d just done, was like coming out of a coma. Probably. I could feel the energy that had taken over my eyes and palms begin to dissipate. My breathing was heavy and I clamped a hand over my mouth in disbelief. I also had to choke back laughter.

“Wow,” Steve remarked, making me jump a little as I had momentarily forgotten he was there. Before I knew it, he was right beside me. “That was amazing. How did you do that?”

I attempted to time out my breaths and calm down, shaking my head. “I have no idea.”

Clint was irritated, now, and I was glad to see that he was getting a taste of his own medicine. “That’s not fair. I’m too old for this.”

“Oh, so _now_ it’s not fair?”

“You just used your secret powers on me that I didn’t even know about! It’s like you just got access to a hidden power-up, or something!”

I smiled widely and Steve looked satisfied as Clint struggled to his feet. Now, I figured I was actually happy that he had decided to come and watch this part.

\---

“Okay. We’re having a family meeting. Downstairs in ten. Both of you.”

Pepper and I happened to be in the same place when we received this message over the intercom from Tony, causing us to share a look. It was one of my down days before I planned to get a job and then, closer to August, make the move out to Boston.

“What do you think this is about? A family meeting?”

“I don’t know, but it’s a first,” Pepper said, setting down her cup of tea that we were both enjoying together. The trip to where Tony was waiting was rather slow because one of us was pregnant and the other one was still using crutches. You could probably guess which was which.

He was sitting on the couch on the main floor when we arrived. It was beside the conference table and he’d always said it was for more relaxed meetings. The table and kitchen where the monumental meeting between the team about Sokovia Accords just before the fight happened right beside us. I still couldn’t get over that.

“Uh, sorry, did I miss the memo about our monthly progress report meeting?”

Tony smirked and rolled with the metaphor. “You got lucky this time, since it was sorta last-minute, but I don’t want to see it happening again.”

I smiled but his wife just crossed her arms, so he aborted the sarcasm and changed to a more serious tone.

“I just thought we all had some stuff to go over, like as a cohesive unit, an open and honest discussion about what needs to be done and what’s working for us—”

“Like a… _family_?” she suggested. I raised my eyebrows and anticipated Tony’s reply.

“I was thinking more of a team,” he told her before rushing on, “But that, too, I guess.”

He gestured for us to sit down and it wasn’t awkward at _all_ as we made seats on the couch across from him. Tony crossed his arms and began slowly.

“So things have been changing, like, a lot lately… and I figured we should get some things out there in the open so that everyone understands where we are right now. I also wanted to hold this against you so you can never try and claim I never told you anything about it.”

Pepper rolled her eyes and I sat back on the couch smugly, just along for the ride. But before I let him speak, I perked up a bit.

“Uh, would any of this have to do with… me?”

He hesitated. “… Pretty much, yeah. If we’re going to work together on this, then we gotta coalesce. No offense, but it’s a lot to explain.”

I shrugged. “None taken. Proceed.”

Tony’s wife seemed concerned, now, as she had heard about the kidnapping but still had yet to hear about what had really happened. I braced myself for a rough discussion. She was definitely going to be upset. I just knew it.

“Pep, the guy who took Sami… well, I’ll just say I have a little history with him. Nothing drastic, just a misunderstanding on my part. Anyway he kinda hates me and he wants to… send Sami back to her universe.”

“What?” she demanded, getting defensive immediately. “Why? We can’t let that happen! …Right?”

I smiled and Tony nodded slowly.

“Yeah, you have the right idea. I definitely won’t let it happen. Thing is, that’s pretty much handled.”

“Pretty much?”

“Well it’s hard to say for sure but I’m working on it—”

“ _Working_ on it? So this could happen again?”

“Look, you’re missing my point. That’s not… what this is about. I don’t need you worrying over it.”

“Oh? Then what would you _like_ me to worry over? As if there’s not enough already…”

Tony smirked grimly and sighed. “I found out that Sami has this… power, and that she’s been keeping it under wraps for a while. Only Peter and I know about it. But I wanted to let you know so that if anything ever happens, there’s nothing wrong and it’s probably, uh, _normal_. For her.”

Pepper’s reaction completely caught me by surprise. She exhaled a sigh of relief and looked almost happy to hear this.

“Oh, Tony, you were kinda scaring me at first. I thought you were going to tell me that she was sick, or hurt, or something. Is this all?”

He did a double-take. “Uh, _all_? Honey, that’s… that’s like big news, right? Am I losing it? Are you just… fine with this?”

She smiled and shook her head at him. “Look, you don’t understand. My husband is a billionaire who creates suits out of metal and risks his life every day by _flying around_ in them and fighting terrorists and aliens and robots and saving the world! I’ve even gotten in on it a few times. And you always seem to accumulate other people that are special, like you, and turn them into a team who can do more together than they can alone. It’s just what you do, and why I love you. So… am I really surprised that the person you decided to adopt has a connection to you, now? That she turned out to be yet another one of these special people? Not at all.”

Tony’s mouth hung open and I was had started to grin from ear to ear during this explanation.

“Uh… um… well, yeah, that kinda covers it. Okay. Wow.”

I was still beaming and Pepper appeared smug at her husband’s flabbergasted reaction. Tony’s plan to have a status update meeting and go over what we all needed to understand had completely backfired on him, but in a good way. Because it obviously wasn’t needed.

Later that night, I wandered into Tony’s lab “accidentally”, wanting to talk to him about what had happened.

“So, why did you actually call that meeting today?” I inquired coyly. He pressed his lips together and rubbed his forehead.

“I really don’t know. I thought it was a smart idea to make sure we were all on the same page… but as it turns out, it was _me_ who wasn’t on the same page as everyone else, apparently.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling at him. “I don’t know, I was surprised by her reaction, too.”

Tony shook his head. “Thing is, I was going to go into this whole planned-out speech about working together and the… baby coming and everything, because I thought it was a good time for motivation. For a game plan.”

“Well, maybe you were looking at it the wrong way.”

“Yeah, I definitely had the wrong idea. You guys didn’t need debriefing at all—” I scoffed.

“No, I mean about the business attitude you had. We are pretty much a family, now, you know. We don’t really need sit-downs to go over stuff – it doesn’t need to be so formal. If you have something to say to both of us, just say it.”

Tony let a sigh escape his mouth. “Right. Okay. Got it. I’ll remember that for next time a huge life-changing secret comes out and you both need to know.”

I made a snarky face at him and chose to change the subject. “What’s Pepper up to?”

“I think she’s upstairs doing paperwork and decorating the nursery, which absolutely amazes me because just this morning she vomited for three straight hours.”

I actually laughed. “Huh. That’s pregnancy for ya.”

“No, that’s _women_ for ya. You know, I’ve started to think that you all have superpowers. I mean, after checking her progress every day and realizing that the woman is _growing_ a _child_ and still remembers to make my dinner somehow? _And_ she puts up with me on a daily basis. That in itself is more than I could ever do.”

I shifted my crutches under me to a more comfortable position. Well, as comfortable as I could be with two sticks stabbing into my armpits to hold my weight.

“You got a point. If that’s so, then I’m included, because I put up with you pretty nicely, too.”

“Well you also have the real kind of superpowers now, so it doesn’t really have much bearing on you.”

I rolled my eyes. I walked back to my room that night thinking about nothing other than Tony’s drastic character development. Back in the first movie I remembered what a jerk he was. A self-absorbed, careless playboy who slept with a different woman every night and didn’t seem to remember half of them, who only cared about having a good time and feeling great about himself. A womanizer. A wash-up. Almost a misogynist, some could claim.

But over the course of the movies, some of which I had experienced, he went from that to a man in a healthy and long-lasting relationship, marrying the only woman to love his real self, taking me in, getting pregnant with her, even going so far as to promote and encourage women in their endeavors. Like me. And Nat. And Dr. Cho. And even Maya, the one I knew he had wronged in the past. He still rooted for her to do the right thing, because he knew she had the capacity for it and was just misguided.

I smiled to myself. Yeah. He was nothing like the jerk he used to have been. Not anymore. I felt like a proud parent watching their kid mature, and I was sure that Pepper did, too.

\---

After Clint and I had finished up the training for the evening, he excused himself to go back into the house, but not until I practically swore to explain what I’d just done to him later. I finally got him to reluctantly give up protesting and convinced him that he was too tired to question me any further, as I was too exhausted myself to answer. I really did need a break. That left Steve and I in the barn, since I walked much slower than the archer because of my leg, which was _killing_ me by then from all the exertion.

Not surprisingly, Steve stayed behind to accompany me as I took it slow back up to the farmhouse to the left of the barn we’d been in.

“So, what have you guys been up to lately?”

He looked thoughtful before he answered. “Uh, just anything we can. We’ve been trying to do our jobs for anyone who might need us but it’s kinda hard when there are multiple international search warrants out for you. But we’ve managed so far. Turns out we have a few allies here and there.”

I nodded and tried for a smile. “You’ve got one here, too, even if it’s a little… complicated.”

Steve must have seen the regret shimmering in my eyes because he instantly began defending me. It was what he did best, it seemed.

“Hey, you have no reason to feel bad about that. Trust me, it had nothing to do with you and still doesn’t. I’m just glad you stayed out of it.”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t exactly _easy_ … and what’s funny is that I didn’t use to be neutral about it all like I am now.”

He furrowed his brow, looking amused by this. “What? Whose side were you…”

“Yours,” I replied quickly, smiling in satisfaction. “All the way. No, I was really mad at Tony for a while. I was… well, uh… a pretty big fan. I just admired how you never let anyone or anything keep you from doing what you thought was right. Sure, you both made mistakes, okay, but Tony should never have sided with the government over his friends, period. As soon as things turned against you guys, he should have called it off. He could have. No matter the cost.”

Steve didn’t miss a beat. “Huh. This wouldn’t happen to be your way of making an apology for him, would it?”

I smirked and looked down, deflating off of my soapbox finally. “I guess after he, you know… _adopted_ me, I kinda found a way to see things from his side. And I don’t like this. At all. I want it to be over already. You don’t know how much Tony has been through since then. He’s changed a lot and I just thought that if he couldn’t tell you then I might be able to…”

“Sami, it’s not on you to fix this. Especially not by yourself. I appreciate it, but I feel like we’ll eventually get past it. At least that’s my hope. That if the world needs us again, we’ll be there. You don’t have to explain to me how Tony feels – I think I know. And whenever we do come together again, we’ll have to do it on our own.”

I sighed. I didn’t understand how Steve could be so full of wisdom in this situation but I didn’t dislike it one bit. I was glad that he had come to this conclusion because it meant that he thought things could be worked out between them. It meant there was still hope. And he was right. It wasn’t my place to be some kind of mediator, even though that was what I felt like most of the time. So I nodded.

“You’re right. I’ll stay out of it and let you guys work it out. But by the way, I just graduated and now you can come by and visit any time you want because I’ll have my own apartment. I think I’ll be moving to Boston this fall.”

Steve raised his eyebrows. “Oh really? Have you told Tony yet?”

I scoffed. “No. I feel kinda bad making the decision without him but now I’m afraid to break it to him. Any advice?”

“Uh, yeah. Don’t keep it from him for too long. I learned that the hard way.”

\---

I decided to follow Steve’s logical advice and tell Tony about my choice to move to Boston only a few days after I returned to the facility from Clint’s place.

I stepped into his tech lab and must have interrupted something, because he shoved a certain hologram away quickly and abruptly removed a headpiece from where it rested around his temple.

“Gosh, kid. Knocking is a thing, you know.”

“Sorry, are you hiding something from me?”

“Well let’s just say that there are some things I’m working on that the public doesn’t need information about.”

“Oh, so now I count as the _public_? Or do you think I would leak it somehow?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, that’s my excuse, you can drop it now. Can I help you?”

“You can, actually. I’m going with what you said about being a team. You know, open and honest. No secrets. That is, if you really meant it…”

“I said drop it, kid. I’m not hiding it from you, you’ll just have to find out what it is later. So go on. I have no desire to be turned into a hypocrite.”

I smirked. “Fine. Well… so I’ve been thinking about this whole college thing and I think I’m finally at the right decision. I thought I should run it past you.”

“Would my opinion change it?”

“Would you like me to _not_ ask next time I come to a life-altering decision?” I snapped back, exuding his same sarcasm. Tony was only slightly amused.

“Touché.”

“And really, I do care about your opinion and it could, you know, be a factor in this if you’re not a jerk about it. So… Peter wants to try for MIT. And it’s looking like he’s going to be accepted.”

He crossed his arms and the smug expression that creeped onto his face was undeniable. “Ohhh…” he drawled in a sing-song voice. “So we’re college-chasing now, hmm?”

I blushed brightly, embarrassed and growing indignant. “No! I mean, maybe… but anyways—”

“No, we’re talking about this first. You’re moving to Boston to be close to Peter? That’s a pretty big decision, kid.”

“Hey, he asked me to come to MIT but I said no, so…”

“But you said _yes_ to where?”

“Uh, Boston University.” I scratched my neck uncomfortably.

“Right. And last I checked, that was a good a ten-minute walk from MIT. You’ve got no argument that it’s a coincidence so just give up and admit that you’re following Peter to college. What, do you think I’ll be mad or something?”

“So… you’re not?”

He frowned. “Uh, jury’s still out on that one.” I moaned at him loudly.

“You know, the amount of unnecessary sarcasm in this discussion is overwhelming,” I spat, getting fed up with how he wouldn’t just be straightforward with me about this.

“You started it, kid.”

“Then I’m ending it, now. This is serious. I’m thinking about moving out and being on my own for the first time. Ever. Do you have any thoughts?”

Tony finally seemed able to be rid of the sarcastic attitude and switch to a more serious expression. He uncrossed his arms and shoved them hastily into his pants pockets. “Honestly, I was just giving you a hard time about the thing with Pete. I don’t mind it if you’d rather be closer to him. I figured you’d want to get out of New York someday.”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by this reaction. “Does this mean that you think it’s a good choice?”

“Well, I have had a good amount of time to think it over since you’ve been googling it almost every day for a few weeks now.”

I inhaled and glared at him, indignance bubbling in my chest. “ _What_?” I demanded. “You’ve been stalking my search history?”

“Not stalking, just… monitoring.”

I scowled and looked down, shaking my head. Tony continued in my hesitation.

“But really? _Boston_? Are you sure?”

I bit my lip. “You could try to be a little more reassuring because I’m… really nervous about this.”

He deflated a little. “Hey, it’s your life, kid. I can’t keep you here because I feel like that’s what’s best. You gotta get out on your own sometime – just like everyone else. I guess I can’t protect you forever.”

“I’m glad you finally learned that…” I muttered, and he cocked his head but didn’t ask me to repeat myself. I looked up at him. “But it’ll be okay because it’s only a few hours away, so I can still see you guys all the time. You can come over anytime you want. I’m sure sometimes I’ll really appreciate it.”

“Because I’ll most likely be there to replenish your bank account?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, even though that’s probably true… it’s because I’ll miss you.”

“Aww, Small Fry, I’m flattered. Are you trying to butter me up to reduce the chance of me still being angry about this?”

“No! I’m being honest,” I told him in disappointment, but then I thought about it. “But... is it working?”

He smirked. “I’ll give you a definite maybe.”

I sighed. “Look, I picked Boston because yes, it is outside New York, and because it’s a normal college where I can just get a normal, non-genius or demanding schedule and focus on other stuff. I told Peter I didn’t want to go MIT or Harvard just because I probably could. I never wanted that before, so I shouldn’t now. Does that make sense to you? Because I feel like it doesn’t…”

“No, I get it. I think it’s a good decision, kid. Really. Just… keep in touch, and if you don’t, I’ll fix that. I will need weekly reports. And I’m glad Peter will be close by.”

I pressed my lips tightly. “I thought you would be. And I was actually thinking daily reports.”

Tony looked pained. “Oh, no, that’s way too much. We’re supposed to look forward to you going off to college so that we _won’t_ have to hear from you every day, right?”

I rolled my eyes, knowing that he wasn’t being serious. “But also… what if it… happens again? In Boston. And you won’t be there. I know Peter can help but—”

“It won’t,” he cut me off. “I promised you I’d take care of it, right? So don’t worry about it. You’ll be more prepared, anyways, if something does happen. That’s also what I wanted to go over in our team meeting. You have to let me know if you _ever_ see anything suspicious. Anything.”

I nodded firmly, trying to swallow my worry for the time being. “Right. It’s gonna be fine. I’ll come back for all the holidays and even some weekends, if you want. And I wouldn’t miss Ashton coming for the _world_. I’m still hoping for my birthday.”

“Well I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Pepper’s not due until two weeks after that.”

“Hey, you never know. I was born two _months_ early.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Are you _trying_ to freak me out? Have I not been stressing enough for you?”

\---

Steve and I entered the house to see Clint, Laura, Nat, and Sam all sitting at his dining table, all chatting. It went quiet as we came in and suddenly all eyes were on me. I wanted to shrink under the simultaneous notice but I fought to keep my spine upright, because I knew exactly why they were all watching me. I avoided their gazes, yet still found myself smirking as I caught a glimpse of Clint’s slight glare out of the corner of my eye.

It was quiet in the room until I frowned and crossed my arms. Steve stood behind me with a certain protective air.

“So, it wasn’t actually that big of a deal…” I muttered, uncomfortable with how they all looked at me knowingly. Clint scoffed and to my surprise, Sam was the one who spoke first, smiling.

“I just want to hear it from you first, the kid who just knocked Hawkeye on his—”

“Sam,” Steve warned. I bit my lip, trying not to smile.

“Well, first of all, you’re an _adult_ now, right? Not a kid.”

Laura said this cheekily but I beamed at her, nonetheless. Because it was true. I’d complained about being called a kid plenty of times before, but now it just wasn’t true.

Clint murmured, “Been going on and on about it all week…” and Sam just shook his head.

“I don’t care how old she is, I just want to know what happened in there. Either Barton’s losing his game and got schooled by a girl or she’s got something we don’t know about. Like I’m talking super-secret kung-fu type of stuff.”

“I told you,” whined Clint, defending himself. “She has powers. She couldn’t have done that on her own.”

“Sorry, I’m just curious, you think this is because she’s a _girl_?” Natasha cut in, sounding offended for me. I lifted my chin in Sam’s direction, who didn’t try too hard to explain himself.

“I mean, just look at her. She doesn’t exactly scream _master assassin_ to me.”

I decided I’d waited long enough to give my two cents. “Alright, you’re right. I do have powers. I was sent here to learn how to fight but I’m also supposed to figuring _this_ … out.” I raised one hand and let it glow a tiny bit just to illustrate my point. “And he’d been beating me up all night, so I thought I could find a way, my own way, to take him down. If I’d known he would pout about it so bad, I wouldn’t have.”

“Really?” Steve asked, smirking at me sideways. It was the first time I’d seen his eyes crinkle with a smile so far. I sighed and snickered.

“No. It actually felt great.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m glad you’re happy, kid. I’m gonna be sore for _weeks_.”

I was really trying my best not to smile, but it wasn’t happening. Everyone was looking at me in amusement except Clint, which prompted me to take the empty seat next to him and hold out my hand for his.

“Truce. Look, I won’t do that to you again, at least without a good warning, as long as you go easy on me and actually try to make it fair next time. Deal?”

He still glared at me, although he did shake my hand. “I liked it better when you weren’t so cheery and _nice_ about it.”

I bit my lip pleasantly again as he stood and stomped out of the room loudly. Sam finally let go of his serious exterior and I saw a hint of a smile on his face. He reached out in my direction, baring his knuckles to give me a fist bump.

“You know, I kinda like you, kid.”

I almost lost it when a humorous thought occurred to me. Just wait until he found out who I was (basically) dating. I knew how much he hated Peter. I figured he wouldn’t like me quite as much once that piece of news came out.

Well, I guessed I would just bide my time on his good side while I still had the chance.


	12. Chapter 12

I felt… different, when it was time to leave the Barton residence, at last. The three weeks, which I thought would drag on relatively slowly, had actually gone by pretty fast because there was so much to do. It wasn’t like in the facility where I had to either mind my own business in my living area or bother Tony. I could basically do whatever I wanted. I could go exploring, I could help Laura out with the cooking or the kids, I could just relax… and it was _nice_. They were surprisingly cool about everything, even though I did try to be respectful of their space. Often I’d find myself having discussions with Lila about what she dubbed “big girl stuff”, which warmed my heart, or played around with little wobbly Nathaniel.

“You know, this has been pretty weird.”

“I take offense to that.”

I smirked as I grabbed my bags and handed one to Clint, who had been leaning on the door frame of Lila’s room while I packed up. “You know what I mean. A good kind of weird. Like… being around an actual family for once. It’s the first time I think I’ve forgotten that this isn’t, well, my universe.”

He hummed and we made our way out of the house. He didn’t respond and I took a breath, changing my tone a bit.

“ _But_ , that should be changing pretty soon…”

“Does this have anything to do with the gossip Tony said you’d have for me?”

I shot him a smile. “Probably. So… it’s that—”

“Pepper’s pregnant, right? Come on, you guys aren’t the best at being discreet. Your family’s going to be changing soon? You going on and on about Tony’s getting so _mature_ lately? It’s not rocket science to put it together.”

I made a face at him, sticking out my tongue. “Whatever. That’s the news. I thought you’d be more surprised than this.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m surprised. I still can’t wrap my mind around it.”

I nodded. “Neither can I. But I mean, it’s happening. She’s due in December, so…”

All of a sudden he stopped in his tracks. Clint looked me dead in the eyes.

“How do you feel about it?”

I stared at him, confused. “I don’t know what you mean. Of course I’m happy—”

“No, really. I need to know. Are you okay with it all? Things are changing and I don’t want you to feel… left out.”

I shook my head quickly, shooting this down, not even taking time to think about what he was saying or why. “I don’t see how I could be left out, it’s not like I need a lot of attention, like, a toddler being overshadowed by a new baby. I’m about to move out, anyway, so…”

“Oh really? So you’re telling me that you’re cool with everyone moving on and starting families of their own, without you? Because you were never part of his family in the first place. Not really. When this kid comes—”

“It’ll be just the same for me,” I assured Clint, getting emotional with irritation. “I don’t know why you won’t believe me that Tony has changed. He… he definitely cares about me. And I know you’re only saying this because of what happened between you two but…”

“I’m _saying_ this because I’m concerned about you. Everyone deserves to feel at home somewhere. Like they’re a necessary part of a family.”

I huffed at him in disbelief. “Look, Clint, I get that you’re upset with him, and you have the right to be. I can understand your feelings. All of them. But that doesn’t mean you have the right to assume that he’s a selfish jerk who would kick me to the side as soon as he gets his own family. Yeah, I _was_ adopted, but… I do have a place there. So I really don’t think you have to worry. I’m basically an adult, anyway, so not being the center of someone’s life is something I should already be used to. Tony may have a different way of showing it than most people, but… I guess I was exaggerating when I was saying that this is the closest I’ve felt to home, because it’s _not_ really that different, after all.”

He frowned at me but I refused to back down from my position on the issue. I felt strongly about it. I rubbed my sore muscles and thought about what I had said. It had all come to me while I was talking, but I slowly discovering how right I was.

“Well, I guess I’m glad you feel that way. And I’m just happy that you’re learning to stand your ground. Being a pushover doesn’t do anyone any good.”

I shifted on my feet and tried to change the subject. “You know, really, thanks for having me over. I hope I wasn’t a lot of… trouble. I appreciate you guys and what you both did. I think I really needed this.”

“Good. We were glad to. And maybe having you all stay here this Christmas won’t really work out, but maybe you could come over another time. I think we would all like that.”

I smiled in satisfaction. “That would be great.” I _did_ mean the part about not being trouble, but I also felt like I had earned my keep based on how many farm chores I’d done for them.

Just then I heard the roar of Tony’s private jet in the background and I knew it was almost time to leave. Suddenly someone grabbed me around my waist and I looked down to see that Lila had rushed up to hug me.

“Goodbye Sami,” she said softly. I grinned down at her.

“Thanks for letting me share you room. It was great.”

“When will we see you again?” Lila asked, sounding hopeful. I pursed my lips and got down to her level.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll be able to come back soon.” I had to give her one last smile and not say anything more, because I really didn’t know and I didn’t want to make empty promises to the little girl. Fortunately, she ran back to her mother who grabbed her hand and waved at me. Clint hoisted little Nathaniel into his arms and looked at me.

“Remember what I showed you and you’ll be fine.”

I nodded and took a brave breath. “I know I will.”

“Also, I did _not_ mean what I told you about… being an Avenger. It was just part of my motivation speech, and I think it served its purpose, so—”

I cut him off. “It’s too late for that. You already got my hopes up and now I have to hold you to your word.”

“But I mean, I don’t have the authority to do that. I would actually say that—”

“Tony does?”

He didn’t really have to think about it. “No.”

“Well, Steve agreed with you, and he’s technically the leader, so…”

Clint appeared to be getting how serious this was now and looked concerned. I tried to hide my smirk that would show that I was just kidding.

“Sami, I’m serious, you’re really not a—”

“What? I can’t hear you,” I yelled. It was true. The jet engines landing behind me that were starting to blow my hair around were deafening. “All that’s left to do now is convince Tony to let me fight with him. Besides, you were the one made Wanda an Avenger.”

He opened his mouth wide to protest my logical argument but I decided not to let him start.

“I’m kidding. The _last_ thing I want to be right now is an Avenger.”

He exhaled in relief and met my eyes. “You can’t do that to me, kid. I felt like I had given you the keys to my brand-new car before you’d ever seen one before.”

I shot him a cheeky smile as I started to back up. The strong wind was blowing the tree branches all around us. I hummed and tried my best to think of something to say, because I just had all these _feelings_ about leaving, but I couldn’t figure out how to put it all into words.

Clint tapped his ear smugly, to signal that even if I tried to speak, he wouldn’t have been able to hear me anymore. I rolled my eyes and turned to get into the small plane with the giant _A_ logo on the side, but not before I saw that he was nodding in an assuring way, like it was okay that I couldn’t get it out, and that he understood. Laura and the kids all waved at me and I returned their gesture, while the archer picked up his youngest son’s arm and moved it for him gently.

For some reason, all I could think about when I saw Nathaniel was Pietro, whom I never got to meet, who’d given his life for Clint, and thus his namesake was carried on through his son, Nathaniel Pietro Barton. But I also thought about Ashton who was coming pretty soon, and it excited me to picture Tony as a new father. Maybe it was what he needed, the last push to make him see what he needs to do for his former teammates. I was an advocate for the notion that families changed people, brought them together.

After all, that’s basically what the Avengers were, right? A family.

\---

I was sitting alone on the empty private jet and decided that I would once again use the privilege of an impossible cell signal to fight off my boredom.

_On the way home._

_Cool_

_So are you a farm hand now or…?_

_Uhh well I feel like one_

_Is it bad that I was kinda excited to see that_

_Lol sorry to disappoint you_

_No no no you aren’t. I’m just excited to see you in general, it’s been three weeks of boredom_

_(grinning face) I guess a long-distance relationship would never work out for us, huh?_

_Hopefully it won’t have to. Speaking of relationships…_

My heart skipped a beat just to throw me off. _Yeah?_

_I’ve been thinking that it’s about time we made it official. You know, if you want to._

_Like… like what I think you’re trying to say?_

I supposed it took a lot of courage to hit send on what he told me next.

_Yeah, I hope so. That we’re dating. As in boyfriend and girlfriend._

I inhaled. My heart rate was steadily increasing and I couldn’t do anything about it, nor did I want to. Butterflies seemed to be having a gladiator match to the death within my stomach. I bit my lip and smiled brightly, quickly typing up my reply and feeling like I was responding to a marriage proposal.

_Yes. Absolutely. I can’t believe we haven’t done this before. But I definitely agree that we’re on that track_

_Alright cool!_

_I guess Tony already basically knows so there’s no use in telling him about it…_

_Oh, right… hmm_

_What?_

_Well, I already kinda asked him_

_You asked him if you could officially date me?_

_Yeah. It was super awkward_

_But I’m assuming he said yes?_

_Sure. After about ten minutes of giving me an extremely hard time about it_

I winced. _Sorry…_

_It’s okay because it’s worth it and we actually ended up having a good talk. So it’s all good!_

_See? I keep telling him that he already knows how to be a parent. He already has two._

_… You’re not wrong_

\---

I slammed the trunk closed with the last of my bags on one shoulder and held by my other hand, sighing. I started up the stairs to my apartment here in Boston, Massachusetts, and finally kicked the door open to see what was waiting for me inside.

Peter was wearing an MIT sweatshirt, and while he didn’t look like an expert furniture mover, super-strength was on his side and made the whole ordeal a lot easier. He stood with his hand on his hips, looking around at everything as his back faced me.

“Is this how you want everything? I feel like I misunderstood some of your instructions…”

I scanned everything and hummed humorously to myself. Seeing as how a box of my clothes was sitting in the kitchen and a box of silverware was in the bathroom, I knew he’d gotten confused with my directions on where to put stuff. I just smiled good-naturedly and approached the spot beside him.

“It’s fine, I still have to put everything away later. You did great. Thanks for the help.”

He smiled back finally and the frowned in thought. “I thought you asked Tony to come…?”

“Well, I kinda hinted that I didn’t want him to send Happy for this, but I didn’t actually… _ask_ him. He seemed kinda busy this morning. Pepper was having him set up the nursery. I think his job was to put together the crib. It’s no easy task.”

“But I thought you would want him to come see you move into your new place.”

I appreciated that he sounded just as perplexed as I felt. It bugged me deep down that Tony hadn’t come, but I played it off as well as I could. “I did. I thought he just would without saying anything. But… it’s okay. I’m sure he’ll stop by soon enough. Come on, let’s go down to your place. I promised to help you with it, remember? May should be here by now.”

Somehow, with the three of us working together, we managed to move all of Peter and I’s stuff into our respective apartments and even unpack the majority of it. Since Peter didn’t have all that much, his was easy to put away, and I, with all my sentimental junk, only had a few more boxes left in my room. It was completely acceptable for just one day’s work.

I was at ease to know that Peter was now just one floor below me and not across town anymore, so it was an extra helping hand and peace of mind if ever something happened. Like, I was still worried about it, but not as much as I could have been.

Anyway, for now I was wiped, so I sat down and decided to hook up the TV I’d brought over from my living room in the facility. I’d taken all the good movies out of Tony’s secret stash and planned to hook one up if I could get the cable service straightened out.

I inhaled. This new apartment was small, just the way I liked it, but it didn’t have the homey feel. Not yet. I didn’t have enough decorations to give it that, but I was working on finding some. Now it just felt a little… empty.

Suddenly someone knocked at my door. It sent a chill through me and I stiffened, because I was not used to this. I didn’t get visitors at the facility or even at the tower. I hadn’t had to worry about answering the door for about three years and it felt entirely strange.

I hoped it was Peter but also felt it was unlikely. It could have been my new neighbors checking in. Either way I wanted to look as presentable as possible so I dashed to brush my hair out in the few seconds I had before getting the door.

“Hey, Small Fry. You forgot something.”

My mouth gaped, as I was surprised to see Tony standing behind the front door, holding the metal structure that he’d made me in the shape of my name and a bouquet of flowers.

I stuttered as he made his way inside. “Tony...”

He seemed distracted as he bustled around. “Mm?”

“Did you… just bring me flowers?”

He scoffed. “It’s decoration for your place. And they’re from Pepper.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Mmhmm. Right.”

“Got a vase? And where do you want this?”

I scrambled to the kitchen and searched through the freshly packed cabinets for a vase or anything that resembled one, to no avail. I ended up filling a pitcher with water and pledging to buy a vase the next time I went to the store.

I instructed Tony to hang the metallic light on the bare main wall in the living room, and within minutes the golden light was illuminating the entire living space.

“That’s it. That’s what this place needed. I can’t believe I forgot it…”

“Your name?” he asked, chuckling at me. I rolled my eyes dramatically.

“No. I was just thinking that it didn’t feel like home, yet, but this is what I was missing.”

“Yeah. Also, now your guests won’t need you to remind them of your name if they forget it.” I wanted to punch him was almost unable to ignore to urge to do so.

“I’m trying to be serious. Thanks for coming, Tony. I thought you…”

“Oh, I see. You thought I’d miss my kid’s first move?” The sound of Tony calling me his kid still sent shivers down my spine because while I was kinda getting used to it, I still certainly wasn’t. I tried to come up with a decent response to this but before I could, he shook his head.

“Small Fry, you gotta stop listening to Clint.”

I grew indignant. “Uh, what? I have _not_ been — how do you know what he—”

“Look, I’m sure that’s what he thinks of me. He may be right on some levels but not about this. I’m going to be there when you move into your first apartment. Gosh.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Tony, that’s not what I was saying. I really wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it, I promise. And you’re here anyways, so…”

“But it would have turned into a big deal. Listen, I won’t reprimand you too hard about it but I need you to know that you can’t do that. You can’t just _assume_ that I won’t be here. Because I want to. It kills me that your expectations for me always seem so low. I guess I just need… the benefit of the doubt.”

Suddenly an impulse hit me and I didn’t ignore it. I couldn’t. So I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around him and pressed my wet eyes into his shirt. He let out a soft _oof_ but finally hugged me back gently.

“See? I knew you’d get like this. You gotta give me credit.”

I sniffed. Curse my highly predictable and emotional nature. I stepped back after a few seconds.

“I’ll remember that. I promise, Tony. I didn’t mean to, but I guess what Clint told me really did get into my head.”

Tony’s countenance darkened with the more serious note. “What? What’d he say?”

“Well, it’s not anything to get upset about. He just… implied that when the baby comes, I’ll—”

“Oh, I _really_ get it now. He thinks you’ll be left out. Which is why you thought I would _forget_ to come over here. Okay. Since I’m tired of having these emotional talks with you, I’ll just leave it at this: that’s impossible. I mean, you already require just as much attention as an infant…”

“Not true,” I interjected in a mock-hurt voice.

“… and with all that’s going on in your life, no _way_ I could forget about you. We’ve… we’ve been through too much for you to not realize that. Got it?”

“Absolutely,” I replied, nodding sharply. “Besides, I’ve already been a big sister once. No problem.”

“Good. I’m glad we came to an understanding, then.”

“Yep.”

He inhaled slowly and looked around. “So… it’s ten-thirty. What do you say we grab some dinner?”

I crossed my arms. “Yeah, your eating schedules are really messed up. I already had dinner with May and Peter. Like four hours ago.”

“Yeah, about that… I’m not going home tonight. Pepper told me I should stay here and head out in the morning since it would be kinda late getting back. And… you don’t have a spare bedroom.”

I smirked, knowing that I wasn’t about to just give up my new bed. “Well, the couch is really squishy and comfortable,” I suggested hopefully.

It was a college apartment and I’d just moved into it, so what did he expect? I was in awe of how calm he seemed about being away from his lab for twelve whole hours. I managed to hook him up with a pack of Oreos (it was all I had) and did some finishing touches before heading to bed myself. I found him a throw blanket for the couch, which he took begrudgingly, and I made absolute certain he knew how happy I was that he came before turning in for the night.

I was pleased the next morning to find a note from Tony, who’d already left, reading _Later, kid_ , and that my cable had been all hooked up and that a brand new, fancy-looking laptop was left on my coffee table. My heart was filled with gratitude and a sense of peace, that I didn’t have anything to worry about. Everything was really starting to look up.

\---

I felt light in my head. I clutched it and was forced to sit down. The smell gave me a headache, but it was more than that. I saw Damon sitting in front of me again, I had the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach… that I was never going to be able to get home… that Tony wouldn’t be able to find me…

Suddenly I was breathing more rapidly than I could control and looking around fearfully. I smashed my eyelids closed and tried to get the images out of my brain. I couldn’t let this happen again. Not now. I had to get away.

Then a strong hand gripped my arm. “Sami! You gotta tell me what’s going on.”

I opened my eyes to see Clint crouching over me with a concerned expression. I was sitting on the ground and he was holding my back. I tried to get my bearings.

“Sorry, I think I’m okay… what happened?”

“I don’t know, I just opened the gas cap on the mower to fuel up and you just fell.”

I narrowed my eyes. “The gas… that smell…”

“It must have triggered a panic attack,” he said, which shocked me.

“A… panic attack? No no no I can’t have—”

“Yeah, you did. When you were kidnapped… do you remember smelling gas? Sometimes if a certain scent is strong enough it can become a trigger for traumatic memories.”

I wondered how he knew so much about this. I took a deep breath and pushed a thin piece of hair out of my face, attempting to pull myself and emotions together.

“Uh, well, I guess I do remember the smell of gas where I was kept. That sorta makes sense.”

He furrowed his brow and began his inquisition. “What exactly happened when you got kidnapped? They always have sinister plans. I understand if you don’t feel like talking about it…”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Did they take you to get back at Tony for something?”

“Well, the guy really does hate Tony, but… not exactly.”

“Then what, _exactly_? And did you say _does_ , meaning he’s still out there?”

I swallowed carefully, weighing my words. “Um, yeah. Tony’s been trying to track him down, but he’s former SHIELD, so you know… he’s pretty good at staying under the radar. He wanted me to, uh… go back to my universe.”

He seemed pretty flabbergasted. “How? Did he have a way to do that?”

I shrugged. “Funny thing, he kinda got hit with a portal explosion and now he has powers that make him, like, go through stuff. Tony says it’s some kind of technical condition, I think. So he said he could figure it out.”

“Then why did he take you if he didn’t have a way to do what he wanted you for, yet?” I pursed my lips because it was a good question; so good I didn’t even know the answer.

“I don’t know. I guess he just wanted to… talk. It was kinda weird. And he only hurt me when I tried to fight him.”

Clint made a face and started to gently help me to my feet. “Huh. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of anything like that before. Let’s get you inside.”

I blinked at him disappointedly. “You know, I really _was_ going to help you mow today. Like I wasn’t just pretending.”

“Of _course_ you weren’t.”

\---

Before I knew it, I had adjusted to my new schedule and life in Boston. It was the first week of December, now, and I was looking forward to Christmas Break coming up, when I was planning to make the trip back to New York and spend the holiday with Tony and Pepper, and hopefully their newest little addition.

But for today it was a normal Thursday evening. I was thinking about picking up some take-out from a nearby restaurant. I had homework to do and normal things to take care of, and the weekend seemed close at hand. However, before I could relax, I called Peter in a dilemma.

“Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“Uh, are you busy? I could use some help.”

It had been like this ever since I moved in. I’d help him with things I could do, but most of the time he’d pop on up to my place to help me reach things on the top shelf – I refused to buy a stool when he could do it for me – or open a particularly stubborn jar. In exchange I’d feed him and occasionally check his papers. I figured May appreciated this arrangement.

“Sure, I just got out of the shower. Is there something you need me to reach for you?”

You know, this was a likely assumption because more than once I’d called him over to change a lightbulb on the ceiling for me. I mean, all he had to do was crawl up there to fix it. It was a no-brainer.

“No, it’s um… there’s a spider in the bathroom.” I didn’t immediately understand why he went quiet for so long.

“… A _spider_? Really, Sam?”

Laughter spluttered out of my mouth as I realized what he was saying. “Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t have to kill it or anything, I guess. I just need it out of the bathroom.”

“Well where is it now? Did it bite you, by any chance? Is it still in the same spot?”

“Yeah, because I… trapped it. Under a bowl. And no, it didn’t bite me. Unfortunately.”

I could see the wide smirk on his face. “So you can’t kill it or get it out of the bathroom but you can put it under a bowl?”

“Peter,” I moaned. “ _Ew_! I can’t _touch_ it! That’s gross! Look, I made your job easier for you. Just please, help me out here.”

“Fine, fine,” relented Peter. “I’ll be right up.”

Within minutes he was inside my bathroom and I was standing behind the door, listening closely with tense hands over my mouth. Finally it opened and Peter emerged proudly.

“Is it gone?”

“The deed has been done. Uh, flushed.”

I grinned. “Nice. Thanks. So… I was thinking take-out for dinner.”

He made his way into my living room and flopped down long-ways on my couch. “Great, I’m starved.”

I was standing in the kitchen, just about to make the call to the Chinese restaurant when my phone buzzed. It was a text, from Tony.

 _Hey kid. Pepper thinks her water just broke. I’m about to drive her to the hospital._ A beat passed by before my phone vibrated again, while I was still processing the first message.

_We’re doing this_

_Ok, let me get everything worked out and I will be on my way!_

He didn’t answer and I assumed he didn’t have time to. I looked up at Peter urgently.

“Do you have any tests tomorrow? Anything important to be there for?” He looked up from his own phone, beyond perplexed.

“… No, why?”

“Because Pepper’s going into labor. I have to drive up there. Like now. Do you have anyone to take notes for you?” I expected him to hesitate about it but he surprised me as he started to get up quickly.

“Let me grab my backpack. I’m coming with you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, wanting to think this through. “Are you sure? I mean—”

“Yeah,” he said as if it was obvious. “I’m going. I’m not gonna miss this. I’ll even drive, if you want.” I smiled and nodded.

“Okay. Then let’s get a move on. We’ve got a three-hour drive ahead of us.” I pulled out my phone and added to my message to Tony.

_Make that both of us. We’re on the way_

\---

(mid-summer)

My curiosity was peaked when I was called down to Tony’s floor of the facility and he announced that it had to do with the secret thing I had caught him working on. I had been wondering what it was, so now I was relieved to know that I would soon find out.

The first thing I noticed was that the lighting in the room was very dim and empty. It was different than the way he and Pepper typically kept their living space looking. I opened my mouth to say something after I noticed that Tony was sitting on their sofa. He stood when I entered, wearing a pair of old-fashioned glasses on his nose.

“Uh, what’s this?”

He inhaled, taking the glasses off and feeling them in his hands. “Are you familiar with my Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing technology?”

I stared at him. “You mean the BARF thing? Um, yeah, I did. I saw it in a movie one time. The tech that lets you see memories, right?”

Tony nodded and his gaze was a bit faraway. “Yeah, come here. I’d like you to try it out.”

I was hesitant to approach him, and rightfully so. “But isn’t it like for therapy and stuff?”

“It could be.” I immediately grew defensive but he didn’t give me time to speak. “Look, I’m not saying you need it. I just think it’s a good idea… not to forget. Maybe it will help us both to see how it used to be. And if you’d like to change anything, that’s always an option, too, but not necessary. Besides, I’d like to see them, too.”

“You mean… my family?”

He nodded and thrusted the pair of glasses out to me. “So these will connect to your hippocampus and all you have to do is decide on something you want to remember. You don’t have to remember all of it; this will do all that work for you and should hopefully show exactly what happened. Pick a good one.”

I sighed and thought. Really, really hard. Finally I took them, stood next to Tony in the corner of the room, and placed the glasses on the bridge of my nose.

And all of a sudden, on the couch in front of us, sat a younger me with my dad and my sister. I was laying on his shoulder and his other daughter was snuggled under the blanket on the other side of him. The real me covered my mouth with my cupped hands.

“Sam, you need to go unload the dishwasher.”

“I can’t get up,” I groaned, barely opening my eyes. “Why do I have to do it now?”

“Because we gotta go to the store.”

“ _Ew_!” my sister complained in a disgusted tone. “Not the store! Gross!”

“Fine,” Dad said, sighing and sitting back. “Then I guess we can’t go get ice cream after, either.”

“Wait, wait, wait, I’ll do it!” I decided, jumping up. I hurried to the kitchen and returned later, dancing excitedly. Tony scoffed from beside me.

“He had to bribe you with ice cream?” he mumbled. “Also, I see that you were even _more_ silly back then, if that’s possible.”

“Dude, I was like twelve, here.”

“That’s only six years ago...”

The holographic me was still striding around proudly until Dad stood up and reached out for me. “I’m gonna get you for that…” he said playfully before grabbing me in a hug. I was laughing.

Then the scene shifted abruptly. This time I was even younger I saw that me and my sister were standing in our small living room, both dressed in pink with little fabric nose strapped on our faces. Then a woman stepped out and into the open area, gawking.

“You guys look so cute! I need to get a picture!”

And just like that me and my sister smushed our faces and bodies together, smiling for our picture. Then Dad came out of the room dressed up like a wolf. Tony smirked.

“Let me guess, the three little pigs and the big bad wolf? What, is this for some kind of Halloween costume party?”

I nodded, speechless at the very real sight of my whole family, laughing and smiling excitedly. It was like I was living in a home video.

“That’s… that’s my mom…”

After a moment, the scene shifted one last time and this time my sister disappeared, and I walked into the living room while my dad was working on his laptop. Just like he always did. I seemed very distraught about something.

“Dad,” I announced softly, though my eyes were red with worry. “I can’t do this.”

“What? I thought you felt good about it.”

I shook my head. “Maybe I do, but that doesn’t mean anything. Look, this test is worth, like, a _third_ of my grade. If I don’t pass it or at least get a B then my GPA will go way down which means that I won’t get good scholarships or get accepted to college!”

I awaited a solid answer but all I got was a few chuckles. My dad was laughing at me and I was taken aback.

“Why are you laughing? This isn’t funny, I’m too stressed for this!”

“I’m laughing because you don’t need to be so stressed. Is it going to help you do better on the test? No. Did you study? Yes. And that’s all you can do, right?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“But you’re gonna do great,” he assured me. “I know how this usually goes. You freak out the night before and then you pass it with flying colors the next day. Because my daughter is the smartest, prettiest, most special girl ever and you can do whatever you put your mind to.”

My worried expression had melted away into a small smile as my father went on. “Okay? So I don’t need you stressing over it anymore. You’re gonna do great, baby.”

I blinked the tears out of my real eyes as I watched myself hug my father. The hologram faded away and soon it was just Tony and I standing there, alone again.

I was emotional, but I was smiling. I’d just seen memories, so real, that I had experienced in the past, things that I hadn’t thought about in so long. So naturally, I had no idea what to say.

“You look… just like her,” Tony finally said, daring to look me in the eye. I laughed and nodded, sniffing.

“Yeah, I uh, used to get that a lot.”

“So that was your sister…?”

“Sarah,” I filled in. He crossed his arms.

“And that was definitely your dad…”

“Well, yeah. My stepdad, really. But not really.” He frowned at me and urged me on by raising his eyebrows.

“Sorry?”

“Uh, so our biological dad left one year, around Christmas time. I was seven.”

Tony shook his head and scowled. “Gosh, Sam… how did I not know—”

“It’s okay. When Mom married our dad, he adopted us so that we wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. So I’ve technically been adopted, uh, _twice_ now. And when she passed away, it was just the three of us.”

He hummed. “Well you seemed to be doing okay.”

“We were. We had hard days but it was good. We made it through.” His face grew somber.

“What’s his name?”

“My dad?”

“Yeah.”

I suddenly grinned at the thought and tried desperately to keep from crying. I hadn’t considered this in a long time.

“Peter. His name’s Peter.”

Tony’s gaze seemed to bare a hole in mine as his eyes narrowed on me. “You’re joking, right?” I laughed a little more and shook my head at him.

“No, I’m serious.”

“No wonder you like the kid so much…”

I sobered up a bit to comment gently, “You know, sometimes I really wish I had found a way to let them know. Like why I left, or something. I hated that I went with no explanation. I guess I just would have wanted them to know I was okay…”

He pressed his lips together. “Well… that’s kinda what this is for. To look back on stuff and change it if you want, if that makes you feel better. I know there’s not actually a way to fix it all, but do you think this could be good for you? I could get a good idea of what you left, for my own purposes, anyway.”

I made a thoughtful face. “Yeah. This is pretty awesome, Tony. Thanks for this. I think I’ll like using it every now and then.”

Tony went on, seemingly paying no attention to my remarks. “You know, I’ve already learned a lot. Like why you always come to me complaining about a problem just for me to reassure you of what you already know.”

“Hey, man. Words of affirmation. Don’t judge. That’s my thing.”

\---

I was right in the middle of a deep calming of my bathroom after a shower when I felt it. A ripple of nausea. I had to pause and be still for a moment, bracing myself on the sink. Looking down my hands flickered and shimmered in the light. I froze up fearfully and my eyes widened.

Well, this was not okay.

“Tony?”

“Yeah, kid.”

“I have a problem and I think I need to come over there right now.” I could practically see the alarm grow on his previously nonchalant expression.

“Uh, slow down for a sec. What’s going on?”

“My… my hands… they just kinda… flickered. Like I could see through them for a second. And I feel really sick. I don’t think it has anything to do with my power, though. It doesn’t feel right.”

“So they disappeared for a split second? Has any other body part done that?”

“Not yet, but I just feel weird, like it could happen again…”

“Hmm. Okay. Don’t drive here, that takes too long. I’m coming to you. And I think I can help.”

I furrowed my brow. “Do you… have an idea of what’s happening to me?”

“I have a _hypothesis_ , yes. Just stay where you are.”

Somehow, he made it to my apartment within twenty minutes. All the way from New York. Some would call it a miracle, but I knew it was normal for him. He had ways of getting around.

“So would you say it looked like Damon did when he went through the pavement?” He got right to the interrogation part of all this.

I rested my hand under my chin. “Well, yeah, I guess it kinda did. Why? It can’t have anything to do with him, right?”

Tony hesitated and placed a case on my couch. “I brought this over. It should help this stop happening.

“Tony, you gotta be straight with me. _What_ is happening to me? Am I just gonna… disappear? Like Damon?”

He finally locked eyes with me. “ _No_ ,” he replied firmly. “Not if I can help it. My hypothesis is that when he teleported through the sidewalk with you… well, I think the portal explosion transferred a sort of virus into him. That’s why he can do what he does. He took you for a reason. Since your genetic makeup is not from this dimension, your universal identity is already unstable. Teleporting with him made it worse. I think a part of the virus is in you, now. If this goes untreated, you could… well let’s just say it’d be a lot worse for you than him.”

I crossed my arms, trying to hold myself together. I felt like if I didn’t then I probably would have collapsed. “So… what I’m getting is that I’m not okay. If you can’t fix this, then I’ll be… permanently see-through?”

He smirked. “That’s one way to put it. Your atoms are angry. They’re getting the idea that they’re not from here. So, you may not be… tangible anymore.”

I looked down, amazed that I wasn’t going absolutely ballistic. I supposed enough freaky stuff had already happened to me that I was getting used to it. “So you can’t cure it?”

“I can _treat_ it, for now. I’m working on a cure, but it’s not like this is precedented stuff. I can’t just go on Wikipedia and read up on it.”

“How did you even come up with this theory? Did you know this would happen?”

“Well, I just kinda… guessed.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get to this treatment stuff, then. What is it?”

“Just a shot. A stabilizing agent. Should make your cells extra dense which would counteract the effects of the virus. But it will wear off, though, which is why it’s just a treatment. You’ll need monthly doses. At least that’s my estimate.”

I took a shaky breath. “Okay. Okay. Thanks, Tony. You’re a genius, you know?”

He smiled and the tension in the room lessened as he removed a syringe full of blue liquid from the case on my sofa. “I _do_ know, but you can keep telling me that.”

\---

Peter and I hurried into the hospital, and I was worried that we had missed it because I hadn’t heard anything from Tony yet.

“Excuse me, are you two here to see someone?”

Peter stepped up to the counter and I figured he was choosing his words carefully, because I didn’t know how to say it, either.

“Uh, it’s our friend, um T—”

“They’re with me.”

The worker at the front desk looked startled to see Tony approach us from the hallway to the right but she jumped to it pretty quickly.

“Oh, Mr. Stark, of course. Let me just get you two some name badges…”

Within a minute we each had little stickers with our names and pictures on them and Tony was leading us down the hall to the elevator. I was glad that he’d met us there, because I didn’t think it would go over very well explaining our relation to him and Pepper to the receptionist. It just sounded like the kind of thing someone would make up.

“So how is it going?” I asked as the three of us stood in the elevator and it had gotten quiet.

“Pretty good, I guess. They haven’t let me in there for twenty minutes.” I got a great mental picture of strict nurses ordering _Tony Stark_ out of the delivery room. And him complying. It would have been an amazing sight to see.

“Oh, so that means she’s already in labor, I guess.”

“If that’s how it works.”

I smirked. He obviously knew a lot more about it than he let on. As we exited the elevator and Tony led us to the waiting room outside where Pepper was, I knew why we were here and what was going to happen. We were the moral support. The… family. Tony had been sitting in here with Pepper alone for three hours, facing this new event that I knew he was freaking out over. I didn’t want to let him be alone for this part any longer, not if I could help it.

It wasn’t like we were coming to save the day or anything, but I also figured it was a lot to just _be_ there for him.

He was sitting in a chair that was a few away from where Peter and I had taken our seat, hunched over and wringing his hands. He had bags under his eyes and a worried expression blanketing his face. His eyes were darting around wildly. I just smiled at him.

“Tony. I know you’re stressed, but it’s okay.” This opened the flood gates.

“I just don’t know what’s happening to her and if the baby’s okay—” I smirked, knowing that his control-freak side was showing. He sighed while I continued.

“Well, if anything goes wrong, the doctors will definitely come out and let you know. But it’s fine, Pepper’s really strong, right? This part of the process just takes a while.”

Tony looked beyond exasperated, which was funny for me to get to watch, but I still understood. Finally he sat back and seemed to be trying to relax.

The story picked up about two and a half hours later. I’d been sitting there with Peter and Tony in the silent waiting room for the length of an extra-long _Marvel_ movie in anticipation of any sort of news. Well, not really. Tony was pacing and Peter was barely fighting off exhaustion, but I had lain my head down on his shoulder and not moved for about thirty minutes. It was getting pretty late.

And then the moment we’d all been waiting for finally came.

“Mr. Stark.”

A nurse was standing in front of us, gesturing to an open door to Pepper’s hospital room with a wide smile. “He’s here. You can go see them, now.”

Tony, who was already standing, shot a glance back at me. Now both Peter and I were sitting upright and smiling along with the nurse. I nodded at him.

“Being a present father starts in there.”

\---

I couldn’t believe it. Spring Break was finally here. And I was in a good mood, so much so that nothing could bring me down. At least that’s how I felt.

I stopped by Peter’s place on my way downstairs with my shoulder bag in hand. “Hey, will I be seeing you around?”

“Oh yeah, I’ll definitely stop by the facility tomorrow.” I noticed a packed bag on his couch and the toothbrush stuck in his mouth. I smiled and waved to him.

“Say hi to Aunt May for me!”

And just like that I was in my car, heading for New York for the holiday. I didn’t have any plans, per se, but I always wanted to spend my breaks with Tony and Pepper because it was my only time to see Ashton besides on video calls. Tony’s visits to my apartment were now cut shorter and were farther apart because he had more responsibility at home.

I picked up an iced coffee for the road and was quickly on a major highway headed for the city. T-minus three hours until I would get to upstate New York. No problem.

The ride was going pretty smoothly, uneventful, which was welcomed, until I noticed a large black van to my right. It was driving kinda erratically so I absentmindedly scooted over in my lane to be safe. I was planning to speed past it when another van cut in front of me and one on my other side mirrored the van on the right. They were all identical, and the two on the sides stayed so close to the back of the van in front of me that there was no room to squeeze through. Suddenly I realized that three black vans were surrounding me and I couldn’t pass any of them. The one in the front was setting the pace.

So I did the only thing I could think of. I slowed down without hesitation so that I could maybe get around all of this, but before I could try it, yet another black van zoomed up and was right on my rear bumper, so that if I slacked up any more, it would have hit me.

My heart was racing and I didn’t think I was going to be able to get out of this. There was no way out. I looked at my dash.

“Tom, what’s going on here?”

“I don’t know, but if you change your speed or direction in any way, you will crash into one of these four vans. I am searching for a way out right now, but none are available yet.”

I was hyperventilating and felt trapped, hopeless, and terrified, so I quickly dialed Tony’s number, in desperation that he might have a way to help. I spoke as soon as it clicked over, because I didn’t feel like I had much time to waste with small talk.

“Tony, there’s these four black vans surrounding me, and I’m trapped between them all, there’s no way to get out. I don’t know what to do…”

“I thought you’d be calling soon enough.”

I could have screamed. I shook my head in disbelief. “ _Damon_? Are you doing this? How – how did you hack Tony’s phone…?”

He ignored me completely. “You can either follow my vans to where I am, or they will bring you to me forcefully. Choose wisely.”

“If you increase your speed by ten miles per hour right now, you can fit into the opening on the left. Now!” Tom instructed me. I felt grateful for my car and did as the artificial intelligence said by speeding up.

“I’ll never come with you,” I said to Damon steadily. “Tony will save me, just like last time.”

And then, suddenly, everything just stopped.

The car on the right slammed into the side of my car, quite purposefully, which jerked me so hard that my hands came off the wheel. I took my foot off the gas and slammed the brakes even though I couldn’t see anything in the moment. The glass on the window to my left shattered in its frame from the impact of the hit on the left van. My car swiftly came to a halt, skidding sideways just to be rammed in the same side by the van that had been behind me.

“Suit yourself,” Damon said, clearly having heard the crash. From the muffled signal of the phone speaker on my car that was now totaled, I thought I heard someone yell “Don’t hurt her!”, but I definitely had a concussion so it was doubtful.

I couldn’t pay attention to anything but my escape, anyways. My head was throbbing in pain, and my heart hurt every time it beat, but I had to get out. I pushed the broken, creaky door open and heard smoke hissing and billowing out of the motor.

Time seemed to be playing in slow-motion. I blinked a couple times and willed myself to move, but nothing was happening. My right leg was caught inside the car and my nose was obviously bleeding because I tasted blood from my upper lip.

I didn’t even remember hitting my head.

I could hear each one of my breaths ring out in the smoky silence and hot tears stung. I was trapped.

And then I saw a dark figure approach my car. It was, without a doubt, one of Damon’s minions. He pulled me out of my wreckage of a car and dragged me into one of the vans. I was in too much of a daze to fight back. Inside the van I was only conscious for a minute or so because I felt so light-headed and like I was going to faint that I finally just had to let go.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I have any readers who have been following the story so far, but this is a big chapter, so thank you to anyone who has been reading up to this point! Let me know what you think! :-) This story does make me happy, but this part... it hurts. Uh-oh.

I had soft music playing in order to create a calm ambiance while I studied for an exam the following day, when there was a knock on my door. I knew it could only have been Peter, since it was after eleven o’clock at night.

I opened up the door and gasped.

“Oh my gosh, what happened?”

“I, uh, got into a fight tonight. I just need a bandage, or something.”

I ushered him inside and closed the door behind him quickly. Anyone else would have started freaking out, but this was no uncommon occurrence for me.

He was wearing his suit with a black hoodie pulled over his head, holding his mask in his hand. He apparently got a shiver from the cold air outside, given how he grabbed his arms and exhaled out of his mouth shakily. The most eye-catching feature, however, was that a stream of blood was dripping out of his nose. I watched him sympathetically and started hurrying around.

“Uh, okay, hold on. Let me see what I have.”

I managed to scrounge up a wet rag, some bandages, and some paper towels to stop the bleeding. I got a good look at the injury and wiped away the blood that had stained his face, and then instructed him to tilt his head back and clot it with the paper towels. I placed two bandages on his left jawline where I found a rather large cut. A bruise was also forming there.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t break your nose, or anything, because I would _not_ have been able to set it for you.”

“You’re doing plenty. Thanks.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at him quizzically. “So what actually happened? Tell me you got the guy, at least.”

He smiled proudly and tilted his head back a little further, shoving the paper towel into his nostrils a bit more. “I did, actually. I just didn’t think he’d really try to punch me. It caught me off guard, but I had it pretty much handled.”

“So what was it this time? The usual robber?”

“Well, this guy thought he could get away with stealing someone’s car from the gas station. But I saw it happen, basically. Karen helped me out with directions and I stopped the car, no problem. He had _no_ chance.”

I smirked at how he was totally bragging, and rightfully so. I remembered seeing news articles titled “Spidey-Switch – Has New York’s Famous Spider Man Switched Cities? … Reports say he was sighted in Boston, does this mean NYC is no longer safe?”

News reporters were always so dramatic. I shook my head.

“I don’t know how you do all this and still make A’s in astrophysics.”

Peter grinned. “Are you kidding me? This is what I do for my downtime.” I rolled my eyes.

“It’s a good thing you have me close by, then.”

Soon after this I had warmed him up a bowl of my leftover dinner, which had been chili. It was nice for such a cold night, and I was glad to see that Peter was starved and appreciated the hot meal. I found myself smiling a lot that night, because it was one thing I was good at. Taking care of the people I cared about.

He was currently sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and all bandaged up, sipping on a bowl of chili. I edged in front of him.

“Do you think May is okay with this setup?”

Peter spluttered. “Okay? She’s _more_ than okay with it. She definitely doesn’t trust me on my own. I think she only let me move out here without her because she knew you’d be nearby. Look, she trusts you with me almost as much as she trusts herself, and that’s saying something.”

I snickered. “I guess it is kinda my responsibility, huh?”

\---

At first, my vision was very weak and I couldn’t focus at all. I had to blink a few times as my body slowly received its sensations back. When they all finally trickled in, I felt like I’d been hit by a bus, which, for once, wasn’t too far off.

My hands were definitely tied behind my back. I scowled and swallowed. Finally a blurry blotch in front of me became clearer by the second and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“This is really getting old,” I remarked. “It’s definitely the most cliché way to kidnap someone.”

Damon smirked and stood. “One thing about me is that I make do with what I have.”

I tried to ignore the panic that was rising into my throat and restricted my even breaths. This was no longer my first go-round with him. Now I was more prepared for this. And I was going to let him know about that.

“You know, this isn’t gonna work like last time. You can’t intimidate me anymore. Tony put a tracker in me and now he can find me without your help. He’s probably already on his way. And anyways, I’ve been working on my… uh, skills.”

He smirked and his harsh eyes seemed to see straight through me, piercing my very soul. His sharp jaw was clenched and he crossed his… well, large and intimidating arms.

“Oh really? I feel almost proud of you. Except I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

“Yeah, why’s that? Because you have it a little more planned out this time? Surprising.”

Damon approached me, making every muscle in my body tense up out of fear. “Everything that has happened so far has been according to my plan, and believe me, I have you right where I want you.”

I gulped and blinked back my terrified expression desperately. “Well, I’m not going through any of your portals this time, if that’s what you think I’m gonna do. Not today, not ever.”

“That’s interesting, because I was under the impression that you’d be very persuadable today.”

“You’re wrong,” I spat. “You’re plan isn’t going to work. You can’t intimidate me anymore. So give it up.”

“But wait, wait, wait. You haven’t even met our special guest, yet. Don’t jump to conclusions before you know all the facts.”

“What? There’s no one else—” I frowned at him in confusion until I heard muffled sounds of either speaking loudly or yelling, like someone was gagged beside me.

“Mmm, _mmm_!”

I noticed that Damon’s eyes caught on a figure to my right.

I saw Tony sitting there, eyes full of anger. I was in utter shock and disbelief. Perplexity. Needing to know more. Sympathy. Fear. You name it, I was probably feeling it.

“Tony?”

Damon finally unwrapped the cloth from his mouth and he exhaled, glaring at him. Then he finally turned to look at me but I took note that he didn’t dare meet my eyes except for a split second, a quick, fleeting glance.

“Hey, kid. Just for the record, I didn’t think this was gonna happen.”

I was speechless and my lips didn’t seem to be coordinated with my brain anymore. I guessed it was because I had too much to say that I couldn’t say it all at one time, much less form an intelligible sentence.

He didn’t _think_ this would _happen?_ Tony appeared to want to calm me down, which is what infuriated me the most. Did he _not_ realize we were currently in a hostage situation?

“I’ll just let you two talk for a minute,” Damon announced, slipping out of the room without a further word. I looked back at my adoptive father swiftly, seething anger pouring out of my eyes at him.

“Okay, buddy. You’d better explain to me what’s going on here real _quick_.”

\---

Peter and I were giving the new parents their space, but I was dying to know what was really going on in there. Sleep was out of the question now that Ashton was already here. My boyfriend sat hunched over in his chair and I watched the door in case anything happened.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Peter asked quietly, after about fifteen minutes of waiting. I shrugged.

“Probably just holding him. What do you wanna bet Tony is crying?”

He smirked and crossed his arms. “I don’t even want to go there. And Pepper?”

“Oh, they’re losing it in there. But in a good way.”

I bit my lip and longed for the door to open. I didn’t even have to go in, I just wanted to see inside. My entire body was jittery with anticipation. They probably _would_ ask me to hold him, though. I didn’t know how I would handle it.

“Do you think you’ll hold him?” I asked suddenly. Peter frowned.

“I think I’ll save that for later. I’ll have time at some point. You need to hold him before me, anyway.”

Just as he finished saying this, the door burst open and Tony stood there, beckoning me inside quickly.

“Get in here, kid. You gotta hold your brother.”

I smiled a shaky, breathy smile and rose from my seat, glancing back at Peter before Tony nodded.

“You too, Pete.”

Both of us inched into the sterile yet cozy hospital room, where Pepper lay on her white bed, looking absolutely exhausted, but content at the same time. She smiled at us and I felt awkward, not knowing what to do with my hands. Everything about the place was… soft. No one spoke above a whisper. Peter and I were wearing hoodies, holding our heavy eyelids open desperately, just like Tony seemed to do, though his were slightly puffy. His eyes followed me as I approached Pepper and she gingerly placed the small, warm bundle into my arms. I sat in the nearby chair and Peter was right beside me quickly as I looked down at him.

“Oh, hey there, little guy. It’s very nice to meet you.”

I studied his little pink face. The newborn was so tiny and yet so squishy that it was impossible not to fall in love with him at first sight. I was in awe of how quickly I was able to point out features that matched his parents.

“He definitely has your nose, Pepper,” I commented softly. “Good thing, too. It’s so cute. And… Tony’s chin. Yeah. It’s pretty distinct.”

She beamed at me. “I thought the same thing.”

The room was filled with a sleepy, relieved, loving kind of happiness. I could have spent all night in there, but I knew I shouldn’t. Right now I was just going to savor the moment.

I looked back down at the little baby in my arms. He stirred and made those precious little baby noises, though his eyes were still closed. My little… _brother_. Wow, what a weird thought. I never dreamed I’d get a baby brother. And yet he’d arrived. Ashton surely had a bright future ahead of him. At least, I knew all of the people in this room would do everything in their power to make it the best it could be.

Peter wrapped his arm around me and I was filled with so much emotion that somehow I stepped out of what was going on in the room. No, literally.

It was like I had tunnel vision. Everything else around me disappeared, and suddenly I could see a little baby toddling forward with his father holding his small hands above his head.

“There you go, you got it, Ashton!”

Then he was carrying a small backpack off to kindergarten on his first day. Then he was tinkering with tech in his dad’s shop, smiling proudly. Then he was giving a presentation in some fancy science class, demonstrating a project with safety glasses on. Then he was receiving his diploma—

“Whoa,” I breathed, having just forced myself to zoom back out of that vision. Tony’s eyes snapped over to me.

“What? What happened?” I handed him his son just to be safe.

“I just… I just saw like a vision. Of Ashton. Like, his future.”

They all went silent. I shrunk, regretting all of this. Then he spoke up.

“Well, was it good?” I smiled.

“It seemed great.”

Tony frowned, nodding in relief. “Okay. We gotta work on this future-stuff, kid…”

I decided to forget about that for a second and turn the attention back to what it needed to be on. The rest would worry about itself later. For now, this moment needed to be savored. Tony gave Ashton back to his mother and swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed to lie next to her.

It was all quiet in the room as both parents looked down at their baby. I saw the world in their eyes. Emotions still ran high from the eventful night. Tony gently kissed Pepper on the forehead. I blinked back stinging tears of my own.

Peter yawned from beside me. I noticed that his eyes were also slightly red and puffy, like everyone else’s.

“Well, I guess you guys are tired, huh?” Tony asked. “You can head back to the facility now. We’ll still be here in the morning.”

“We don’t have to leave,” I protested, and Peter backed me up, but the genius wasn’t having it.

“No, what are you gonna do, go sleep in the hallway? I’ve got my own nice chair in here if it comes to that. We’ll take it in shifts.”

“The first night is notorious for lack of sleep, anyway,” Pepper lamented. “I don’t think either of us will be getting any tonight. So it’s fine, you guys go.”

I made another noise of dissatisfaction, but I was also glad to hear it, as well. I didn’t want to leave, but I did, at the same time. They needed the alone time together, anyway.

“Fine. But we’re coming back first thing, with breakfast.”

Tony seemed satisfied by this. “Good. And coffee.”

\---

He still wouldn’t meet my demanding gaze as it went on. He had no choice but to explain, as we had been left alone in the room.

I didn’t get it. He didn’t seem worried, at all. He had told me that he hadn’t known this would happen… like he’d been hoping for a different result. Like he was… in on this.

“Did you know what was gonna… that he…?”

“Look, you gotta hear me out on this, kid. Just for a second. Don’t assume what happened until you know all the details.”

“Yeah, right, I’ve heard that one before.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at me, but that was the only indication he gave that he even heard what I muttered. “I’m not hearing it yet. You don’t have an open mind. We’re sitting in a run-down observatory, both tied to chairs. And you gotta listen.”

I hesitated. “We’re in an observatory?”

“Yeah, wanna know how I know that? Promise me you won’t jump to conclusions and that you’ll just… _listen_. I don’t think I’ve needed someone to listen to me so much in my life. So just… please.”

The sound of him begging me to listen made my stomach drop even further. Having him with me should have made me feel better about being held hostage, but somehow I was even more worried. Because if it was _that_ important for me to hear him out, he must’ve known that whatever he was going to say would sound pretty bad and cause me to get upset. But I nodded at him, nonetheless. I would, for once, show myself a good listener. Maybe.

“So this all started yesterday when he called me. Just to talk. I was on the alert about it, but I let him say what he had to say. I wanted to hear it from his perspective. He explained his stance and that he really didn’t want to hurt you, which I’d _almost_ believe, and asked me to come down here and that we’d come to a compromise.”

I raised my eyebrows and my jaw could have hit the floor. My words tripped over each other. “A _compromise_ …?”

“That was until he put you in danger. I heard the accident over the phone. I could have murdered him for that.”

I took a deep breath and clamped my eyes shut, trying to control my anger. “But you didn’t, because… you came to a _compromise_ with him? What kind of compromise could you two have made?”

Tony was reluctant to answer this. He looked down. “First of all, you gotta know that he does _not_ have the upper hand here. I do. I made sure of that. The virus is making him weaker by the minute, and actually, he could disappear forever at any moment, from my calculations. I have all my suits on standby, and Peter, and you see this thing on my chest?” He gestured with his eyes to a glowing chest-piece that resembled his arc-reactor he no longer had, but instead it was hooked to the outside of his shirt and was shaped like an upside-down triangle. “I have my suit in here. Nano-tech. It’s kinda new. But I can use it anytime and lay our guy out so—”

“Tony, I get that. I don’t really care about that part; I know you won’t let him hurt me. Just tell me… tell me you don’t…”

Finally, he turned his head to the left and locked eyes with me.

“I think he may have a point.”

I inhaled sharply and it felt like my world was crashing down around me. I went pale and couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. I knew exactly where he was going with this, but Tony rushed on desperately.

“Look, see, there it is. You jumped to conclusions. You gotta know why, first, Sami. I don’t expect you to agree with me right away. I just need you to understand.”

“Is this what Damon meant when he said I could be persuaded? You’re really gonna try to convince me to go…”

I couldn’t finish and he clearly couldn’t answer. I spared a glance at him and discovered that he bit his lip and shook his head, staring down at the floor.

“You know why I kept you? Because I was trying to undo the mess of a life we’d given you. Instead I took you away from what you already had. I was being the hero, for once, saving you from a life-sentence. I thought this would be a better life, somehow, but now I see that you could have made it there. Maybe just like it always was. Who knows? Your life could have been what it was meant to be. And I can still get you back to that.”

“Do you really think this is the best solution? To pretend that nothing ever happened? You were right from the beginning; I would have had to live on the run if I went back. That’s never what I wanted.”

“How is it any different from what you have here? At least then you’d be with your real family.”

I was breathing heavily. The hot air I exhaled was the temperature of my stinging tears. “Like I love them so much more than you…”

“I would,” he spat quickly, with fire in his gaze. “Small Fry, I forced you into a new world like it would all work out, when I should have just been a man and fixed your real life for you. I did the selfish, least brave thing.”

“You took on a kid as your own!” I argued hotly. “How is that _not_ brave? How is it _selfish_? After all this time, after three years of making this my family, getting closer… you think this is the time to send me back? Do you somehow think I could forget all of this? You’re my family, now, no one can change that. I – I can’t just go back to my old one. Not now. Don’t you understand that I was _meant_ to come here, that we’re _connected_ —”

“I love you, kid.”

He cut me off and I froze with bated breath. Tony’s face was lined with deep, sad emotion.

“…What?” I whispered.

“That’s why I decided to go through with this. Because I’ve really started to care about you, ever since you first came here. It’s why I think the best thing is to try to give you a better life. What’s left of it. And I’m sorry… about what happened. You didn’t deserve this and I see that now. So all I can do is fix it, the only way I know how. That, at least, is my responsibility.”

I swallowed, closing my eyes. “You're acting like I could just forget all of this that happened… I can’t believe you, Tony. I’m not going through with this. You can’t make me.”

Tony truly seemed let down to hear this. “I don’t want to. Please, just, I know it may not be how you wanted this to play out, but—”

“Oh, that’s an understatement. Not how I _wanted_ this to go? Who would _ever_ want to lose one family forever, make a new one, and then have to let that one go in the end, too? You don’t get it. There’s been so many nights I’ve spent… _wishing_ I could go back. Just for a little while. All I want is for them to know I’m okay. But I finally made my peace with that. And I did it by focusing on this new life. Sure, it’s hard, but it’s what fate gave me.”

“Why do you have to make this so difficult? I’m acting on my guilt, here, because I know it’s my fault that this happened. I get that you won’t be able to go through with this without hating me, but I can live with that if I know you’ll be okay. I’m just trying to protect you from… what’s coming. I know you can figure the rest out with your family.”

I was seething, now, in anger and in disbelief but I didn’t have time to think up a decent reply before the door opened and Damon came inside. He wasted no time untying Tony from his chair and ushering him back out with his hands behind his back tightly.

“I hope you two had enough time to talk things out, because I need him, now. I guess you might need some time to think about your own decision, Sami. I don’t blame you. I just hope you’ll come to the right one, for everyone’s sake.”

At last I made myself look up at Tony one last time. I saw the utmost regret in his eyes, and how much he wanted me to say yes. But I couldn’t. And I needed him to know that. My stomach felt like it was full of rocks, yet I had to tell him how wrong he was.

“Clint was right about you.”

That’s all I said, all I _needed_ to say, and even though I wasn’t Tony, I could still feel the knives shooting out of my words and piercing him. He looked away and moved out of the room without anything further. Damon just looked intrigued and amused by all of this.

I was left locked in the room, still tied to a chair, with hopeless, despairing tears dripping down my face, and I couldn’t even wipe them away.

\---

Recently I had been full of so many home feelings. Just last night, I’d gone to May and Peter’s place for dinner, and finished off the evening by looking through an old picture book, chock-full of all his most embarrassing baby pictures. Of course, he had one of those classic baby pictures of him being naked in the bathtub, and much to his chagrin, I was enjoying it way too much.

“You’re so cute!” I cooed all night long. “Look at this one! _Aww_!”

I had whipped out my phone to show him what remained of my own childhood memories, stored in a special folder on my phone, but I knew I could never have them all. I’d only saved a select few on my phone.

It only served as a reminder that I wasn’t raised here. That I really didn’t have a tangible history to look back on anymore. Only my future. It was what constantly drove me to capture all the memories I was making here.

I was also wracked with nerves. Tomorrow was kind of a big deal for me. It was the final of my public speaking class, and I had read a presentation on a topic I’d been assigned. Of course, I’d written it up days ago. It was the, um, _presenting_ part that had me worried. I had to read it in front of the entire student body.

Peter had promised to sneak in, even though he wasn’t in that class or asked to be there. I was grateful and it made me feel a little better, but also stressed me out at the same time. It would be on a huge stage in the drama department, and I would have a podium and everything. Yeah, I’d spent the semester working on it, but it was still the first time I’d done anything like this.

So the next morning I got up extra early, made sure I had my coffee and a decent breakfast before packing up my stuff, and was making my way down to the garage only to be stopped in my frantic tracks.

“Did I hear something about a presentation today?”

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “Uh, yeah. For public speaking. It’s the final. So I have to do well on it. I… also have to give a speech in front of like half the school. I’m only slightly freaking out about it.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. You’ll do great. I’m guessing Peter will be there for moral support?”

I looked down. “Uh, yeah. I had to promise to make it kinda short because he’s gonna have to miss part of a class to hear it.”

“Well then I’ll make sure to ask him how it really went later.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed, and before I knew it, I was standing on the stage, as it was my turn in the line-up of speakers, and I was taking shaky breaths in preparation to deliver my writing.

I looked down at a seat that had been empty a few seconds ago and noticed that it was now filled. Peter had occupied it and swiftly shot me a double-thumbs-up. I had to bite the inside of my lower lip to keep from smiling at him.

It was as I was reading the last section of my speech about the importance of each level of Maslow’s hierarchy that I saw it.

“And perhaps most important of all these is the love and belonging tier. Even more so than the necessities, even more so than the self-esteem, because without it you can’t have a proper view of yourself. In my experience, the journey to self-actualization starts here. And happiness does _not_ begin at the last step – of course it doesn’t. Most people never reach self-actualization and are content with that. They lead good, fulfilling lives. Why? It’s because they have met the most crucial needs, the most influential tier – love and belonging. It comes in a variety of forms. Some don’t always realize it when they have it. It can come from accepting yourself for who you are to deepen your understanding of self. It can come from your friends. However, most often this sense of acceptance comes from the home. From the family. Knowing that when you come home you can let your hair down and that the people inside will love you just the same, no matter what, is the turning point of this hierarchy. This feeling is what sets you on your way to even greater successes in life. People who don’t feel accepted in their home life find it impossible to be proud of themselves, because of the overwhelming feeling of the need to please everyone, and until they find a home, the goal of self-actualization is impossible. Still, the definition of home is not set for everyone. It is anywhere a person can be loved and supported unconditionally. To me, home is where I can be myself without having to worry what others think of me. And once this love and belonging need is met, the possibilities become endless.”

Once I finished, I was met with a round of applause from the school and all I wanted to do was leave and go take a nap. However, as I smiled out at the students and began picking up my papers to make my exit, I noticed Tony standing in the back, giving me a sly smile and clapping along with them.

My cheeks felt like they had suddenly gotten way too much sun and I quickly nodded and left the stage, praying I did well, but there was nothing left to do about it now. The next public speaking student was brought up to the podium in my path and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest.

When I questioned Tony about his reasoning for showing up, he blew it off as common sense.

“Did you really think I’d miss your first big speech? You’re well on your way to becoming my spokeswoman.”

I rolled my eyes. At least I’d done it. It was over. And both of my boys were here to support me. I couldn’t have been happier to see them. I figured I’d met my love and belonging need.

\---

_“You’re a good kid who has lost their entire world and the least I can do is give you a… home. A place to come back to. You’re not ready to be out on your own yet, you’re fifteen, and you need to be able to be a kid as long as you can. That shouldn’t have been taken away from you, but it has, and it’s on me. You’re kinda my responsibility, now.”_

_“It’s not hard, I think I’ve actually worked it out. I just have to do the opposite of what my dad did. There were too many birthdays where I woke up to my mom being all sympathetic to me because she knew my expectations would not be met once again. ‘Cause dear old Dad was working and wouldn’t be there for the day, another consecutive year. You shouldn’t ever have to feel that if I can help it. And I still can’t believe you fell for that I-forgot-your-birthday trick. It’s so cliché.”_

_“Listen, kid. I know this isn’t going to be perfect, and you get what it’s like to not get what you want in life, right? Just as well as I do. But I’m going to… do what I can to make what’s left of your years as a kid as much like your old life as possible. Because you deserve good memories of your teenage years. And if I couldn’t get that, I’m sure as heck going to make sure you do. You’re too much like me, kid.”_

_“He doesn’t get what it’s like to wait all night for a sliver of information after getting news that his kid has been kidnapped. He’s never lost sleep over a decision he’s made that affected someone he cares about that he can never take back. Peter has never spent days trying to solve a problem to protect a person that he’s in charge of. But I have, Small Fry. I’m… I’m responsible for you. It’s not like saving the world. It’s different because you depend on me… me personally.”_

_“No, I’m not planning to start a foster care program, and yes, she’s the only one. It’s a classic case of I… messed up, again, and I’m trying to fix things for someone who needs my help.”_

_“I love you, kid.”_

I didn’t understand it. How this could have happened. It didn’t make any sense and yet it made all the sense in the world. I should have seen this coming. And yet I couldn’t have, not ever.

I shook my head and just decided to get all my crying out. I never thought I would have to make this decision again, between universes, between worlds, between _lives_ …

And here I was. Sitting in a chair with my hands tied behind my back, abandoned and anything but safe, left alone by the man I thought would always be behind me on this.

I hated it more than I could ever express, but not because I didn’t understand why. I knew _exactly_ why he had chosen this for me. That’s what made it so hard. He wasn’t doing it out of carelessness, or spite, or pride – oh no, it would have been so easy to hate him and be done with it all. No, he did it out of regret. Guilt. _Love_.

My usual empathetic nature was making the thought process difficult. I wanted to be mad at him, to yell no, that I’d never go through with it, but was I really making the right decision here? He had a good argument. Just expecting a universe-shift to go over smoothly and with no problems or lasting effects had been naïve. And the thought that this world wasn’t good enough, or a worthy alternative compared to what I was used to, was wrong, but not an illogical conclusion. Tony had always tended to assume everything was on him, and therefore if something wasn’t perfect, it was his fault and his responsibility to make up for it.

I didn’t blame him, really. His judgement had been skewed about our relationship for a while now. I supposed seeing the memories of me with my family really set in this idea of inadequacy for him.

I guessed that knowing he was doing this because he cared should have relieved me and given me hope, but it really terrified me that much more. Because I couldn’t directly oppose him. He wasn’t completely in the wrong.

In the end, I considered it, hard. I really did. The thought of going home and seeing my family again sent a warm, familiar feeling all through me.

But I knew all along that that was never the answer. I chose this. And I had to deal with it. Going back now wouldn’t fix anything. Tony may have been trying to protect me, but I thought back to my original dilemma.

_“You were meant to come here, always. It is your fate. You were never destined to stay in your universe, and it is no coincidence that you found us.”_

Loki, of all people, had told me this, but he had been right. I still had this power. I was getting visions of the freaking _future_. I couldn’t go back now that all this had happened to me. I clearly had to help with whatever was coming. Tony probably wouldn’t like that, but I had to accept it and go through with whatever I needed to do.

Because that’s what any other member of the team would have done.

Steve, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Wanda, Thor, and especially Tony. I didn’t care that choosing this life would be dangerous. I didn’t see it as a choice, anymore. I could abandon them, not now. It was too late. We were a family, and it didn’t matter if they needed me or not. I’d be there.

So my answer was soon clear. I was _not_ going through that portal. I didn’t care what I had to do. I had power. I didn’t want to go through Tony, but I would if I had to.

I just really hoped he would give up before then.

\---

I was only alone in the room before Damon apparently figured I needed to see their progress, so he promptly moved my chair out to large area where he and Tony were working on the door to my dimension.

It was a strange feeling, knowing that it was this close. That if I just stepped through the swirling gateway, it could all be over. Not really, but still. I could go back. I could fulfill all those nights of missing my family and how it all used to be.

For some odd reason this feeling had a reverse effect on me. Instead of making me feel conflicted, it made me that much angrier. I still knew what the decision would have to be. Tony wouldn’t even look at me as he ran the calculations.

I turned my head to the side, studying the room around me. Above us, the roof was opened to show the starry night sky. Various, unused star-gazing equipment littered the floor around us, including a huge telescope. The perfect scene to build a doorway to another universe in. It would have been beautiful if I could have detached myself from the situation to appreciate it, but I couldn’t.

“Did Peter know?” I suddenly asked, seeing that Damon’s back was turned and that Tony was near me, focused on his work being done on the frame around where I knew the portal would appear. It was very similar to the first one.

“Hmm…?”

“Did he know? You said he’s on standby. Right?”

Tony’s eyes cut into me and he seemed wary of Damon hearing this. I went on, not caring.

“Did you tell him the real reason why we’re here?”

“No,” he finally admitted quietly. “I figured it would be easier on him if he didn’t know why. I wanted it to be your decision, anyways.”

I scowled grimly and lowered my eyes. I could hardly handle hearing all of this and not reacting. But I was forced to, because out of the blue Damon decided to cut in.

“Speaking of decisions, have you come to one yet?”

“Yes,” I replied, and he turned to Tony, probably noticing the stubborn fire in my eyes.

“I take it you haven’t persuaded her, yet?”

“I’m working on it,” he assured him quickly. “She’ll get there. And if not, we can… work that out.”

Skepticism was written all over Damon’s face. “If not, _I_ will ensure that she goes. I thought you didn’t want it to come to that.”

“I don’t,” Tony fired back, looking a little worried. “I don’t exactly have the easiest job in the world, you know. Parenting a teenaged girl is much harder than it seems. Plus, it already _seems_ hard.”

“Just get on with it, Stark. I’m trusting you to get this done. Don’t make me regret that.”

It was an agonizing further thirty minutes or so until it was time to make my decision officially known. I’d been left to my thoughts in the silence of Tony’s work, which was going much faster than last time. It was likely because he had experience under his belt and also because of Damon’s “special” kind of help. Meaning he could literally make portals using dimensional energy. And soon, it was finished.

“Should be good to go,” Tony said, and just like that he hit something. Like the final switch to be flipped. A spiraling, interdimensional portal sprang to life, seeming like it burst out of nothing. I still couldn’t get over it. One step, and I’d be home.

Correction: I’d be where I was born and raised. Not necessarily home. I had to remember that.

Tony looked at me, pained. “Don’t do this to me, kid. Can’t you just…”

“No. You’re wrong, Tony. You don’t want me to go. You’re just making the hard decision because you think it’s what’s best. But now… I have to make the _really_ hard decision.”

He frowned. Damon stormed over to us.

“Uh, what? This isn’t what I wanted to hear.”

“Could you give us a minute?” Tony asked, sounding irritated. The kidnapper’s face went dark and I saw through his body so fleetingly, I blinked in confusion.

“The second I see you turn on me, you’re going to wish you hadn’t.”

“Got it, _Casper_.”

I shook my head and met Tony’s eyes.

“When I had to make this decision the first time, Natasha sat me down and asked me to picture myself in my family’s shoes. How they would feel if they thought I would spend the rest of my life in prison, or as a fugitive, versus how they would feel if I just disappeared without knowing why. So I chose what would be the easiest on them, for a reason. I can’t put them through that again. So I’m not going and neither of you can make me.”

Tony just sighed. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

I had to force my eyes away, but not until I noticed something. He had winked at me. Like a sly little gesture that stunned me.

Could he really have just…?

“Listen, Damon, I gotta be straight with you. After all that’s happened between us, I think I’m going with the kid on this one. No hard feelings, right?”

Damon just growled and charged at Tony, and before I knew it they were having an all-out fist fight. I wanted to cheer him on but my hands were still tied together.

Right. I probably needed to hurry up and get out of that.

I tried my best to use my power to see if I could cut through the rope with it. It seemed to be working, but it was slow progress because it was difficult to aim the heat right at the ropes from the uncomfortable way my hands were angled.

While I was working at this, my eyes caught on the fight going on to my right. Tony was taking quite a bit damage from Damon’s rushed, violent, powerful blows. He was strong, too, but barely enough to keep his head above water. He dodged as much as he could but was unable to block them all and also have time to get the upper hand.

I was about to bite a hole through my lip when I saw that he tapped the device on his chest twice in one fleeting still moment before going at it again. Suddenly, I gasped when I saw that his red and gold armor was starting to seep out of the chest piece and materialize over him and realized what he had meant by “nanotech”. It was almost like it was bleeding over him and within seconds he was fully suited up.

Now Damon stood no chance.

“Kid, I don’t have a plan after this!”

“I’m working on it!” I hollered back, feeling the ropes start to give way at last. Finally I was free and able to stand. I eyed the portal, feeling powerless against it.

Powerless…

Was I really powerless, though?

“So I have an idea,” I voiced my thought aloud, knowing that Damon could hear me but not letting this hinder me from sharing with Tony. “It’s probably going to backfire on me, but I have to get rid of this portal.”

“It’s all we got!” he shouted before they both disappeared. I winced. Damon was seriously reaching if he thought that teleporting them both was a good idea. Tony could just fly back and leave him alone wherever they went.

But nonetheless, I was by myself again, facing this problem. This portal represented my entire life, my childhood, my family, everything I thought I would become… and I was about to destroy it. Talk about symbolism.

I had to do it, though, or else Damon could trap me there forever, or something. This portal had to go. And I could do it. I had to try. It was the only solution, at least the only one that occurred to me at the time.

I fired up my power, felt my hands grow warm and then I felt like I was outside my body looking down. My eyes were definitely glowing and I summoned as much of the golden energy as I could.

I focused it on the rim of the portal and slowly moved inward. It was sturdy, and I felt myself starting to waiver. I couldn’t sustain this powerful of an energy beam for long. Heck, I didn’t even know I could have done it before today.

But then I felt something land beside me with a _whoosh_ and a loud _clink_. Then another beam of energy accompanied mine in the focused blast.

I managed to turn around for a few seconds and looked in Tony’s direction, all suited up in his new iron armor. The beam he was producing beside my own was actually really strong.

“You sure this is going to work like you’ve planned? This thing’s gonna blow and it’s not going to be pretty.”

“Well, you’ll protect me, right?”

I wasn’t even scared anymore. I was way past that. Feeling a drip of sweat inch down my forehead, I knew I also couldn’t keep this sustained for much longer. But I’d keep going as long as it took. The frame finally seemed to be giving a little bit of way with a loud creak, and the face of the portal appeared to swirl with even greater energy than before. The thick metal was beginning to melt away.

“You don’t understand! This is exactly what he wanted!”

Tony’s helmet immediately turned to see Damon, who had staggered in across from where we were standing, seeming to be desperate to remain upright. He looked like the human equivalent of a robot that was short-circuiting. It was pretty creepy. His condition was clearly worsening by the second. Parts of him disappeared and reappeared at random with transparent blue light, as if he were malfunctioning, or _glitching_. I shuddered, remembering that that could’ve been me if Tony hadn’t treated me for the virus. He seemed like some kind of backwards zombie who couldn’t even stand up straight as he limped toward us.

“What? Who?”

Damon’s face – what was left of it – went dark. “It doesn’t matter. It’s too late. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.”

Suddenly I heard a big booming voice in my head, and while its origin was unclear, I knew who was speaking from experience.

_“You shouldn’t be surprised, really, that this happened. I told you that you’d be critical to my plan. And now I can officially begin, all thanks to you.”_

And then everything changed.

All color drained from my face. “Tell me you didn’t just hear—”

Before I could finish, an explosive force burst out of where the portal had been, and I was hit with a blast of multiple kinds of energy. I flew back and my legs tumbled over my head in midair. In a split second, before I could understand what was going on, metal arms wrapped around of my horizontal figure that was flying backward. I crashed and went limp as the two of us shot out of the roof of the building we’d been in. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, dragging out in one long moment. I heard painful screams of the man we’d left behind…

And then they just stopped.

I was inconsolable in Tony’s arms until he spoke.

“It’s okay…” he muttered, just audible enough for me to hear, shaking me out of the moment and into the present situation. “Small Fry, I’m getting you out of here. Right now. So stay with me.”

“Yeah, right…” I started to feel my eyelids droop as my hair blew in the wind. “I have to pass out.” I’d exerted myself too much. Consciousness was no longer an option for me.

He seemed only mildly disappointed. I supposed it was his sarcasm pouring through the stressful situation. “Fine. Whatever you want, kid. Just hang on.”

I could see a mushroom cloud of smoke rising from what was left of astronomy tower, and slowly drifted off as it quickly grew smaller and smaller, farther and farther away.


	14. Chapter 14

The first thing I was conscious of was my breathing. Heavy, slow, hard. My head drooped to the side and my nose whistled faintly with every inhale. I had to close my mouth that had been hanging open. When I opened my eyes, they felt like they hadn’t been wrenched out of their frozen position in ages.

Geez, I must have had been _out_.

I blinked, shifting my eyes around the familiar medical bay I found myself in. I was laid out on a hospital bed, covered in white sheets and surrounded by the usual hums and whirrs of Tony’s tech, constantly in motion.

Then I noticed the IV sticking out of my arm, lined with electrodes. My hand was glowing ever so slightly, prompting me to clench my fist quickly. I wondered why it had done that. I wasn’t thinking about anything to purposely make it glow…

I inhaled and tried not to start hyperventilating. I was alone in a white, cold, sterile room. I didn’t know what had happened or where anyone was. And I didn’t know what was wrong with me, why I was hooked up to all these monitors. The last thing I had seen was the utter destruction of the observatory, and Damon disintegrating—

“Hey, kid, good to see you awake. You okay?”

I saw Tony standing to the side, with his hands classically shoved deep into his pants pockets, and exhaled. “I don’t think that’s how I’d put it.”

“How would you put it, then?’

“Like I expended every ounce of my energy and am only just now starting to get some back.”

He stared at me. “Small Fry, it’s because that’s word-for-word what happened.”

I half-sneered and half-frowned. “Oh, right. Then you know I’m not being dramatic.”

“Yeah, for once. You must be starving, though. I’ll work on that.”

I slowly lifted my eyes and asked the burning question. “What happened while I was out? How long have I…?”

“Just under 24 hours. And a lot has happened. That observatory? Smithereens now. Luckily it was abandoned and no one really seems to care, except the clean-up crew, I guess.”

I swallowed and mumbled, “Great,” before going on, “Where’s Pepper? How is she, and Ashton?”

Tony seemed reluctant to reply for a few moments, but finally cleared his throat after I cocked my head at him. “She, uh, took a trip down to the Malibu house. Don’t worry, everything’s fine, I just thought it would be better for her to…”

“Not be here?”

He hesitated, and finally went on cautiously. “She was pretty worried about you, kid. There, um, there was a second when I didn’t see how you’d – how you’d pull through. I told her to leave for Malibu as soon as your vitals stabilized. I just didn’t need her worried when she has to take care of Ashton.”

I nodded emphatically. “Totally. I get it. I’m sorry. Let her know I’m okay, then.”

“Already took care of it.” I analyzed the way he was looking at me, with eyes darting around and the way his mouth kept popping open and then closing again.

“Is there… something wrong?”

“Uh, kinda. Listen, I’m leaving it up to you. There are some things you have to know, but that can wait. And I guess, if you want, we can talk through some stuff. Or, I can show you something that might help with… that.”

He had pointed to my hand, which I had not discovered was glowing again until I looked down at it. I closed my hand and my eyes and thought. I hadn’t even felt anything.

Tony went on, shrugging as I contemplated this. “It’s your call. You decide what we do now and what we do later.”

I hummed. I wanted to first decide if I was pleased or irritated about this arrangement. He knew how much I disliked making decisions, especially on the spot, but I supposed I would have been even more upset if Tony had made the choice on his own without involving me at all.

In the end, I figured I was just pretending to think this over. Deep down I knew how badly we needed to discuss all that had happened a day ago, but to be honest… it was the _last_ thing I felt like doing. I’d just woken up from being unconscious for twenty-four hours after a pretty traumatic event, after all. I wasn’t just going to be okay and feeling up to delving into my most gushy, hurt feelings no more than two minutes later. I couldn’t look at him the same, not after what happened, and I couldn’t process all of that right now.

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to go with the second option. We can always, uh, talk later. I’m honestly not ready, I’m too tired and hungry to think about anything right now.”

He smirked, as if he had expected this, which was likely, and began to unhook me from all the wiring. I gestured to it.

“So what was all this for?”

“I was trying to see if anything registered as being off. You know, since your hands were glowing the entire time you were out. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. I just kept monitoring your vitals from then on.”

I thought back to what he had said about me not looking good to make it at one point. I swallowed hard and let him help me out of the bed. My legs felt wobbly underneath me, but it was satisfying to stretch as I walked around slowly. I followed Tony out of the med bay and down to another floor. Not to his lab, surprisingly, but to a living space with a conference table inside, as well as a few couches and a television. He approached a chest of drawers and reached into one, pulling out something made out of weird-looking fabric. I narrowed my eyes as he held it out to me.

It seemed like thin material, grayish with flecks of gold here and there. It looked wired, like the inside of the CPU within a computer. I guessed it wasn’t tacky or strange because it kinda… worked. But I still stared at Tony with wide eyes.

“Uh, what is this?”

“What does it look like?” he asked back, frustrated at my confused demeanor, like I should have gotten the point by now.

“I mean, it looks like you made me a suit, but…”

“Well, that’s because I did. This is designed to mask your powers. Block them. When you wear it, it should be able to contain them, even if you don’t want to.”

“So I won’t be able to use my power at all…” I muttered. “Like Elsa. You know, conceal, don’t feel?”

Tony’s mouth gaped for a split second of confusion. “Yeah, I don’t know what you’re talking about, just put the suit on. The floodgates are open now. In your hands. So I’d say it’s pretty urgent. See if it works.”

I didn’t let it go. Ah, get it? “You definitely got that reference. You’re just embarrassed to admit it.”

I pursed my lips at him and begrudgingly took the suit, noticing that it looked about the size of a child’s onesie. I hoped it would stretch out enough, but there was no doubt that it would be… tight. I thought Tony saw this in my expression.

“You have powers, now,” explained the billionaire. “Get used to the spandex.”

I scowled. “Says the man who gets to wear a clunky metal suit around!”

When I was finally alone and enclosed in the bathroom, analyzing the suit before taking off my clothes, I breathed out of my mouth and prepared myself. I was going to put my clothes back on over it. I couldn’t just walk around in a skin-tight outfit like this was sure to be. It took a lot of confidence that I did not have.

Surprisingly, as I pulled it on, it didn’t feel scratchy. At all. The inside fabric was actually soft. Sure, the outside looked wonky but the interior was snug. I felt entirely self-conscious as I studied my small, short body in the mirror. The material hugged my figure in every place and I couldn’t imagine presenting myself to anyone like that.

I looked down at my arms, lined with shimmery gold, woven through the plain gray fabric. It felt strange, seeing myself in this type of suit, especially since it looked so techy, but Tony was the Edna Mode of _Marvel_. And it also felt… kinda cool to have my own suit.

I decided to really test it to see if it would work. First I tried to summon the energy from my hands that I was often able to produce whenever I focused. Nothing happened. I even strained myself trying to pull it out. I felt like I was about to start smoking, or short-circuiting. Well, that was a good sign, I supposed, but it didn’t feel natural.

Next I attempted to look forward. It was kind of a new skill, but I had learned that if I wanted to, I could get a vision of a possible outcome. Now, granted, I couldn’t see very far ahead, but usually I could have gotten a scene of me going to Tony after leaving the bathroom, or something along those lines.

But I couldn’t see anything. No matter how hard I tried, nothing came to me, instead I just felt a headache behind my ears. And I wasn’t complaining. I gave up trying, before it got worse, because… I didn’t want to break anything.

That’s how little I knew about this power.

I shuffled out of the bathroom, back into the room where Tony was standing, looking down at some hologram in his hand, projecting off a small card. He must have heard me enter, even though I had been treading the ground as quietly as possible, because he turned and gave me a once-over.

“Really, Sam? A tank, and sweatpants?”

I frowned. “Hey, walking around in such a tight suit is basically going around naked. Don’t act like _you_ know all about that.”

“I guess you have a point. So, how does it work?”

“It… definitely does its job. I almost passed out in the bathroom from trying to use my power.”

“Good.”

“Good? Do you think this is good? What if I… need it?”

Tony’s gaze grew serious. “You won’t.”

“But—”

“No, Sami. I don’t wanna hear it. The risks outweigh anything else. I watched you. Every time you twitched, your power could have gone off, blown something up. Now that we’ve seen what it can do… it’s stronger than we thought. You know what you can do when you aren’t thinking about it, what about what it does when you _are_? Until you can get it under control, you’re wearing that suit.”

I huffed and looked down, though all the while something dawned on me. I raised my head again quickly. “Well, then I need to find out more about it. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, but we can’t exactly go Google it. Unless you have an idea, there’s no way to do that.”

I chewed on the inside on my bottom lip. “So, maybe I do have an idea…”

In all honesty, I’d been sitting on this proposition for a while now, but I had been too afraid to suggest it. Now that things were seeming to heat up, I knew time was running out and that we might not get another chance. Tony looked at me with wide, curious eyes.

“Hey, Mr. Stark, I got the food you asked for.”

It only eventually appeared to hit Peter that he had walked in on something based on the way we had stopped talking abruptly and how Tony was staring at him with an annoyed expression.

“Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“No!”

“Yeah, _kinda_.”

We had answered at the same time with contradicting messages, causing Tony to turn his glare to me, at which time I spoke up to clarify.

“We were talking, but it’s okay. You can hear it.”

“Oh, he can, huh?”

I figured that Tony would disagree with this and I was prepared to defend it, but he slacked off before I could. “Fine, whatever. You get to decide what he hears. I’m out. I have stuff to do.”

I opened my lips to argue but he was gone before I could come up with anything decent. Which left me alone with Peter, who looked slightly concerned.

“So you were talking about things that Mr. Stark doesn’t want me to know about?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t even… I guess. But I’m going to tell you anyways.”

He nodded gratefully, smiling and crossing his arms as perplexity flashed across his expression. “You have a suit now?”

“Uh-huh,” I said in an ambiguous tone. “Like it? It’s spandex, you can relate, right?”

Peter smirked. “Totally. It looks… good on you.”

I faltered. I wanted to smile and to say thanks, but I was wracked with worry and starvation at the time. It was all a really weird sensation. My eyes kept wandering to the brown paper bag of McDonald’s breakfast, and I supposed my boyfriend knew the feeling well.

“I guess you’re hungry, why don’t you get something to eat first?”

I took this idea and ran with it, so much so that I only felt ready to talk about things when I was sitting criss-crossed on the nearby couch with a mug of coffee between my legs and the wrappings from the meal had been discarded in the trash.

“So I’m guessing you want to know what happened a day ago,” I ventured. Peter seemed relieved that he didn’t have to bring it up.

“Uh, yeah. Tony told me that he might need me so I was on stand-by all day, waiting for him to call, but he never did. I didn’t understand, he talked like he knew… what was going to happen. The next thing I knew was that he called me to come get your breakfast, after he ignored all my calls about you except to say that you were going to be fine.”

I made a disappointed face at him, because I was. I hated the thought that I had worried so many people that already had so much on their plate. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want him to stress you out like that, but I didn’t really have a choice. I just woke up, like, thirty minutes ago.”

To my chagrin, he turned even more worried. “What happened? Why doesn’t Tony want me to know about it?” I sighed deeply.

“Because he thinks it’ll change your perception of him. But it won’t, not the way I’m going to explain it. At least I hope not.”

Peter crossed his arms. He clearly knew that I was planning to tell him something he wouldn’t like to hear. “Oh… okay. Go ahead.”

“It was all Damon’s fault. He got me. I was in a wreck. His guys surrounded me and made me crash. I was fine, but they took me to him. When I woke up, um… Tony was there.”

Peter was flabbergasted. “What? He was there? And he wasn’t trying to save you? So that means he… he was working with him?”

“No, not… well, yeah. He was trying to find a compromise.”

“Wait… you said Damon wanted to send you back. Like, _back_ , as in… to your universe. You’re saying he…?”

He didn’t have to finish and my silence screamed louder than any words could have. I rushed on before he had the chance to explode, like he looked like he could easily have.

“It’s not like you think. I’m not mad. I mean, I am. I’m really mad. But not at him. I mean… it’s because I understand why he did it. Sure, it hurt, but he didn’t do it to hurt me. So I’m trying not to be mad because he was trying to protect me.”

“I don’t get it; how could he protect you if…?”

“Well, that’s just the thing. One thing I know about Tony is that he doesn’t like to not know what’s coming. And… he felt guilty for taking me in the first place. He wanted to bring me back to my old life, to make it right, even though it wouldn’t have been. I saw it in his eyes. He really felt like he had screwed everything up for me. He didn’t understand that everything was screwed up for me _before_ I came here. But he just wanted to save me from whatever is coming. The problem is that it’s just not that easy.”

Peter scoffed. “Yeah, like we could all just forget you…”

I could have lost it right then and there. Easy. Somehow, I didn’t even know how, I managed to internalize my emotions and keep on explaining.

“I know I shouldn’t really be defending him, but I want to. I have to. Honestly… one of my biggest fears is that one day I’ll find out that someone I care about isn’t or hasn’t ever been who I thought they were. I guess that’s why I’m okay about it. Because he’s still exactly the person I knew he was. He had the right motives, he just… didn’t think it through, I guess. But it’s over, we handled it, and we have to move on. I can’t go on being mad at him. With whatever’s coming… it sounds serious. I’d rather be on speaking terms with him for this than not.”

I thought that my argument was pretty logical, but I in no way expected Peter to just agree with me. It was a lot to take in, I understood that more than anyone. I could already feel myself losing control of my emotions, but his soft reply was the last straw.

“I probably won’t be able to understand why you feel like this, because if I were you, I don’t think I could get over it so easily. But… I’ll stand by whatever you want to do. I’m just glad you’re still here. You’re the best thing that could’ve happened to this universe.”

Yep, that was it. I bit my lip, trying to smile at him, but I couldn’t bring myself to, because it was the opposite of what I had been thinking. He instantly scooted over to me when he saw my tear-filled eyes and I leaned back onto his chest. Peter wrapped his arms around me and I just lay my head back, closing my eyes and letting the feelings finally seep out. I remembered back to the last time he had held me like this.

_I was standing in silence in my kitchen, alone in my thoughts, when Peter bustled through the door, looking starved. I pressed my lips together when his attention caught on me._

_“Is something wrong?” he asked, setting his book bag down on the floor. I crossed my arms, shaking my head._

_“Only that I’ve been a jerk to you.”_

_He furrowed his brow at me and frowned. “Uh, woah, woah, no. I don’t think so. That’s kinda random. What do you mean? Where did this come from?”_

_I hummed. “I’ve just been thinking. About us.”_

_“Oh… oh?’ I softened my tone, noticing that I seemed to have alarmed him with the suddenness._

_“It’s not that, everything’s fine, at least for me. But I don’t think it is for you. I’ve been thinking about it all and I don’t see how it could be.”_

_“What? Do you think I’m not happy? Because—”_

_“Maybe, I don’t know, I just know that I haven’t been fair to you. I mean, just think about it. We’ve been officially dating for months now, I followed you to college, we even live in the same building, and yet all our time is spent just… being friends. I only see you when you come to pick up dinner or when I need you or just to hang out after school or work. That’s not what people who are dating… do. You never say anything, and honestly I don’t ever think about it, but I feel so bad. If you were a stranger who saw us, you could not tell that we’re anything more than friends.”_

_“But do they need to? How different should it be, than friends?”_

_I smirked. “Like… it should be more romantic. Boyfriends and girlfriends usually don’t just sit around asking each other for help with their homework and stuff like that.”_

_“But isn’t it a thing that best friends work out great as a couple?”_

_“Sure, but like…”_

_“Look, are you okay with how things are going? Because you’re the one who’s complaining.”_

_“Why me?” I blurted out. Peter stared at me._

_“…What?”_

_“You could have someone else who would make you feel loved. So much more than me. You know I’m not ready for anything more than just… being, right now. I’m still working through a lot of stuff. You could have someone who would actually be a girlfriend to you, who wouldn’t just use you to talk to and who could do a much better job than me. I’ve been really selfish lately. So why me? Why not Michelle, or… someone else who you wouldn’t stay with just because you pity them—”_

_I stumbled forward, as something had attached to my chest and pulled me closer to Peter. He pressed our lips together, surprising the heck out of me, but in a good way. I just had time to close my eyes before he pulled back._

_“Sami, you’re my best friend, and I don’t pity you. All of what you said is wrong. I don’t care about being romantic, or whatever. It’s you. So I can wait until you’re ready.”_

_I sighed a breath of relief. “Good.” Peter turned and wrapped his arms around my waist. I looked down at the webbing on my chest._

_“So how do you get this off?”_

It was quiet between us as we sat contently on the couch, before Peter offered,

“Is there anything you need me to do?”

“Well,” I considered his offer. “You could help me persuade Tony of something…”

\---

I started down the steps to Tony’s lab, where I was ninety-eight-point-seven percent sure I would have luck in finding him. Sure enough, there he was, bustling around some holograms and computers and other stuff I had no clue about. He seemed so focused on whatever he was doing that I wasn’t sure if he had heard me or not, but I spoke up anyways.

“Why do you make so many new suits?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Are you trying to be nosy or are you trying to get me to be introspective?”

“Mm, probably a mix of the two. Actually, I genuinely want to know. I mean, I think I already do, but I want to know what you’ll say.”

“I know you didn’t come down here to inquire about my deepest motivations, but I’ll play along.” He narrowed his eyes at me and I narrowed my own right back. “Do you want the generic answer that I give everyone or the real one?”

I took it that there was a true and a false answer. And I wanted to hear them.

“Both. The fake one first, please.” He sneered.

“Well, I usually tell people that it’s just what I do. It calms me. It’s my thing. I’m Iron Man. So I enjoy it.”

I crossed my arms. “I take it that it you don’t, then?”

“No. It’s therapeutic, I guess, but I don’t enjoy it as much as I feel like I have to. I like to be prepared. The anxiety… that’s one thing it’s helpful for. I can come up with a whole bunch of horrible possible scenarios, easy. Making suits, new programs, new versions of everything helps me feel prepared for anything. Improving on what I already have is the only way I know how to be prepared. Because you can say that I don’t know exactly what’s coming, but you can sure as heck say I’m going to be ready for it. Any way that I can, anything I can do, I will.”

I nodded. “Hmm. Makes sense.”

Tony rolled his eyes at me pointedly. “I swear, I thought you wanted to go into _child_ psychology…”

“Exactly. You’re perfect practice.” He ignored my sly burn, which I was proud of.

“Oh, do share your own professional assessment. Please. I have to know.”

I smiled. “Well, I think it has mostly to do with you need for control. It seems like it’s kind of an OCD thing. You’re a control freak and you feel like everything’s on you. Like, it’s _so_ clear that that’s the case. You feel like you’re the only one who should have power, who should have the ability to save people, because you can trust yourself and you can’t trust others. And I think you need to work on that.”

Tony raised his eyebrows at me like he was impressed. “Wow. Okay, so we’re forgetting all the personal growth, now? All the times I’ve tried to make up for my mistakes? You came down here to list all the things I need to change, huh? Because that’s really—”

“No, no, no, I’m not. But I still think there’s a long way to go. I’m just saying you should start trusting other people. That’s all.”

He appeared to want to hash this out more, but finally, he let it go. “Whatever. What did you come down here for, actually, besides annoying me and distracting me and stressing me out all at the same time?”

I pursed my lips. Just then Peter arrived at my side, just as I had planned. I figured he would have a better chance of going with my idea if we already agreed and tried to convince him together rather than if I was alone.

“So this is about my idea I was going to share with you before. You know how I don’t know anything about my power, really. Wouldn’t you say that that’s pretty valuable information, and that if I had a way to get it, we should?”

“Maybe,” Tony surmised. “Why? What are you trying to say, you have some crazy way to find information about it? Who else would know besides you?”

“There was someone… someone who told me about it to begin with. If anyone would have more to tell me about it, to explain where it comes from and how to use it, it’d be him. I think… we should go to him.”

“You and I are definitely not thinking of the same person.” Tony immediately rejected this idea outright. “Are we? No, absolutely not. We’re not going looking for a _psychopath_ —”

“Mr. Stark, just hear us out for a second.” The genius was dumbfounded that Peter had entered the discussion.

“…You two are _tag-teaming_ me on this?”

“Well, she’s right. Sami needs this information, and this is the only way to get it. We’ll all go together so that she can be protected and so nothing will happen.”

“If you think that somehow I’ll agree to taking _both_ of you to him, then you both are _crazy_. Also, this unnamed person is still unnamed, so we could be talking about a hypothetical Easter bunny for all I know. I’m kinda hoping for that one.”

I tried desperately to keep the discussion on track. “So we’ll find Thor first. He probably knows where Loki is. Then he can take us, and if anyone can handle his brother, it’s Thor.”

“And if he doesn’t know where he is?”

“I’m… betting that he does.”

“You’re betting on a _lot_ here,” snapped Tony. “You have no idea if this will even work. And tell me again how you’re planning to get there?”

“I have this worked out a little better than you think, Tony! I have a plan.”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like a great one… it sounds desperate.”

“Isn’t that what we are? Because I’m feeling a little _desperate_ by now!”

“No offense, Mr. Stark, but do you have another idea to help Sami with this? It could work, and if it does, then great. If it doesn’t, we haven’t really lost anything.”

Tony’s mouth gaped at Peter. I didn’t like that we had been yelling, but I had a lot of feelings inside and my adoptive father wasn’t being very sympathetic. I was glad to see that my boyfriend had shut him up for a second.

“Fine,” he hissed. “Whatever. But if this goes wrong, it’s not going to be my fault. Come here, Peter, I have to give you your present early, I guess.”

Tony did not seem happy whatsoever, but Peter, on the other hand, looked absolutely elated. Several minutes later he ran back into the room, wearing a shiny metallic spider-suit, exclaiming,

“This is so cool! I’ve always wanted to go to space!”

\---

Before long, the three of us were standing outside the facility on the lawn. Tony and Peter were both suited up with nanotechnology, and I was still wearing my own suit with tank-top and capri-length sweatpants over it. I wasn’t really in the mood to care how I looked at the moment. Peter was standing behind me protectively while Tony watched from a distance. I proceeded to the first part of my plan.

Well, it was pretty much the only part.

“Um, hey, Heimdall, sir. So I don’t really know you… I know of you, and I’m sure you’ve, uh, seen me around… Anyways, we need some help. We’re trying to find Thor, so we can find Loki, and if you could bring us to him that would be great. I hope you can hear me. It’s just Tony, Peter, and I. This will be a round-trip, of course. We really appreciate it.”

Tony approached us, raised his helmet, and rolled his eyes at me just to lower it again. I sighed in aggravation as a circle around us began to glow and Peter grabbed me, bracing for the rush. An oxygen mask that was the color of Tony’s iron suit materialized over my mouth, strapped around my head, and it hit me that it was a precaution in case we ended up somewhere in the middle of space, where it was doubtful to have actual air. It was definitely happening, and a lot faster than I had thought it would.

We were just casually taking a trip through outer space using the Bifrost. It was _fine_.

I didn’t have enough time to think about what would have happened if we got stuck out there, or if it didn’t work, because we were suddenly flying at the speed of light through a _rainbow_. My heart was racing and all I could do was hold on to Peter tightly and close my eyes in fear.

And then, we just landed. My feet hit the ground, and everything seemed dark for a moment. It took my eyes a while to focus after the rush of blinding light, and Tony was already on the job by the time I was able to look around.

My first impression was that this was not at all what we were looking for. I couldn’t see a golden dome around us, or a rainbow bridge, or a shining city. In reality it looked like some kind of warehouse… but no. We had to be in space. I could see it out of a large window ahead of us. Behind us the area was dim, lit from the top and on the sides of walls that surrounded us. It almost looked like it could have gone on forever, but I could make out the back way behind us.

It seemed large enough to hold hundreds of people, though. We had arrived in the center of a crowd of tired-looking Asgardians – at least I hoped they were Asgardians. They watched us with concern, fear, and confusion. But they weren’t terrified; I figured they had been through a lot worse than having strangers appear on their ship.

“Uh, so we’re looking for Thor, but we may have landed on the wrong gigantic spaceship,” Tony explained loudly. “If no one knows where he is, it’s fine. We’ll just be on our way to the right one. These things happen. I guess.”

Everything fell dead silent as Peter placed a hand around my waist protectively.

“Plentiful oxygen detected in the area.” I heard a voice speak very close to me and remembered about the mask I was wearing. I slipped it off to test out the air and instantly noticed that I could breathe – there was definitely oxygen in here.

“There will be no need for that, Stark. I must say, it is quite good to see you, old friend!”

I was pretty certain that all three of us wore the same shocked expression. Thor pushed through the people collecting around us, and I knew it was him because of what he said to Tony and because he looked exactly like his actor human counterpart, Chris Hemsworth. I mean, honestly. His hair had been cut short – which wasn’t even the most surprising thing – and cool, decorative lines had been shaved into the sides, like he was a gladiator or something. He wore his usual suit with the chainmail over his arms but half of his red cape had been torn off. I didn’t see his hammer anywhere, and he also wore an eyepatch over his left eye. Just like his father.

I wondered what had caused so much change for him. I didn’t dislike it, but it would take some getting used to.

“Sami? Is that you? You have hardly grown at all! And who is this smallish red man?”

My blush melted into a grin, seeing Thor. Peter made a sound like he was trying to form a cohesive answer, and his mask minimized, disappearing into the nanotech of his suit, but he never got the opportunity to speak up in time. Suddenly our attention was ripped away when another tall person pushed through the people and into view.

“So you’ve finally come to me.”

I tried to ignore the fear that shoved its way up into my throat while I was watching Loki stare at me creepily. I was feeling completely weirded out by the very first thing he had said to me. But I was able to take the silent moment to study him. He seemed… different. Granted, I hadn’t seen him in person before, only in dreams, but I knew what he usually looked like in the movies and this wasn’t that.

He wore a green and black leather suit with a green cape that flowed behind his shoulders. His hair was long, just like it always was, and he glowered at me, but he didn’t seem like a psychopath. I was sure he was, but he typically looked malnourished and… hungry for something. This time he seemed more normal… healthier, even. Not crazed with murderousness, at least.

And that was something.

“Uh, I don’t know, about that…” I scratched the side of my neck and he smirked.

“Don’t be coy, I know why you’re here.”

“Why _are_ you three here?” Thor inquired. “Sami? Why does my brother…?”

“It’s a long story,” I attempted to say before Tony jumped into the conversation.

“Look, Thor, we just need a place to talk. In private.”

Fortunately, the thunder god seemed to know just the place, but I wasn’t sure that there was much more to this ship thing than what we could see. As we followed him to an area away from the curious eyes of the Asgardians, Tony began to quiz him.

“So what, is Asgard like, _mobile_ , now?”

Thor just chuckled. “I suppose so. It is quite a long story.”

“Let’s not get into it,” Loki warned.

“Well, Asgard has been destroyed, to say the least.” Tony seemed gobsmacked. He raised his eyebrows at his friend demandingly.

“Destroyed? Like, it’s gone? Off the map?” Thor just furrowed his brow with a hint of despondence.

“Yes. A lot has happened since we last saw each other.”

“You’re telling _me_ …”

“Tony?”

All of us looked up to see none other than Bruce Banner bounding toward us, like he’d found all the answers to life’s questions. His eyes were wide and he quickly pulled Tony into a tight hug, who had his suit dematerialize just in time to make contact with the scientist.

“It’s so good to see you,” he breathed. “What are you…” His eyes landed on me. “Sami?”

“Hi, Bruce.”

He hugged me, as well, although not as fiercely. I could take it, however. I liked hugs. And I had missed Bruce. It was clear that he had, too.

I wondered what had happened to him during all this time.

“Banner,” Tony started softly. “You’ve been missing for two whole years. We thought you were dead.”

He was being straight-up and so was his science bro. “I know. I thought I’d never see you again.”

This was clearly too much for my adoptive father to take in all at once. He just shook his head, not daring to meet Bruce’s eyes as we walked. “It’s a long story, it can be for later,” the gamma radiation expert replied, and I was glad to hear it. All of these stories had to wait. I didn’t have enough patience.

“So, who are you, again?”

There was no _again_ to Thor’s question; it was valid. Peter hadn’t answered him the first time he’d asked and he wasn’t about to make him wait on an answer again.

“Um, I’m Peter. Peter Parker. I’m… with Mr. Stark and Sami. You can call me, uh, Spider-Man, if you want. Or just Peter’s good too.”

“Spider-Man!” Thor exclaimed. “That is a sensible name for you, because of how small you are. I get it, young Stark.”

My boyfriend opened his mouth to argue, but there was no argument for it. Thor had simply decided that he was small and also therefore Tony’s son. Peter shot me a glance and I just shrugged. I was willing to go with that.

“Here we are. We should be able to talk alone in here.”

Before closing the door that led to the open room we all stood in, Thor instructed Heimdall and a woman I didn’t recognize – Valerie, maybe? – to watch after the people in his and his brother’s absence, and also to make sure we weren’t interrupted.

The mood in the room was antsy as we shifted around awkwardly. Until Loki waved a hand and two couches appeared, facing each other. He rolled his eyes and sat down when no one else dared to.

“Well, if no one else wants to be comfortable...”

“Loki, how do I know this is not another one of your tricks, and that I won’t just fall through?”

The trickster smiled. “I’m sitting on it, aren’t I?”

I raised an eyebrow after Thor finally sat gingerly beside Loki, though with a whole cushion between them, and I didn’t waste much time dragging Peter by the hand over to the sofa across from them. The brothers lounged back while we sat on the edge of our seats nervously. Tony followed us, but didn’t sit, instead choosing to stand protectively over us. Bruce just paced back and forth, listening.

“Shall we begin, then?”

“Hold on, I think we need to set the premises first. I’m... _very_ confused,” Bruce interjected. “Why do you seem like you’re having a meeting with him?” I looked up at him.

“Well, I am. It’s because I have this power, and I don’t know how to control it, or even what it is, really. Loki… told me about it from the beginning, and then recently I blew up an observatory…”

“Wait, you _blew up_ an—”

“Don’t ask,” Tony said, waving it off. I knew he was waiting for the helpful information, just like I was. We didn’t have much more time to waste with backstories.

“And now you’ve come to me for the answers you have yet to figure out.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just get it over with. I have some questions for you about my power.”

Loki crossed his arms. “You should know, before we start, that there are some things I cannot tell you. You must figure them out yourself. It is not of my own accord that I withhold some of the information, mind you.”

I was already boiling that we had gotten so far in the conversation before I got such disappointing news. I wanted, so badly, to chew him out for this, and Tony beat me to it.

“Are you kidding? Because I could _withhold_ your conniving little head from your neck right _now_ —”

“Tony, just a second,” I said bluntly. With one look, I showed my understanding of his anger, but I also knew that my only chance to learn about this power was right here and diminishing quickly. A little bit was more than nothing. I certainly didn’t want to waste a trip into outer space. Fortunately Tony seemed to get it and he backed off.

“Alright, fine. But there _are_ things you will tell me?”

“As long as you ask the right questions.”

I winced. “Okay. No pressure. Uh… can you at least tell me where it came from? I wasn’t in an accident, or exposed to anything dangerous, or bitten by anything… these powers just _appeared_. It had to have come from something, right?”

Loki smirked, sending a chill down my spine. “Do you really think that you haven’t experienced _anything_ that a normal human has never experienced before?”

The way he asked the rhetorical question made me feel stupid but I wasn’t sure why. The hairs on Peter’s arm stood up and I knew his spider senses were triggered based on Loki’s deep, menacing drawl. You could say I… _sensed_ it.

“Um… I mean, I _did_ come from another universe…”

“Precisely. No other human could have survived the strain after this long. Making an alternate universe your permanent home puts stress on every cell in your body. It’s either that you were meant to be here because you’re different and important for something, or you are some kind of inhuman anomaly.”

I raised my eyebrows at him and shook my head, trying to get my elevated heart rate under control. “Well, I’m definitely leaning toward the first option, then.”

“I could argue for both. Does it not strike you as amazing about how much you have survived? Do you think an ordinary human could live through any of that, or come away as cleanly as you surely have?”

I hummed, disliking how he kept saying “human”, as if… as if there was a chance I wasn’t. Heh, heh, what a wild, completely foolish idea.

“So, what’s the point? You still haven’t come out with it. I get that I’m… different, but where does this power even come from?”

“From deep inside you. Your very innermost being, whatever you’d like to call it. Heart, soul, whatever you think of when you think of your very center. That is where your power originates, and it is, I think, tied to your very life force. That’s where you reach into to access these powers. It is my guess that anything that affects you personally, that resonates deep within your emotions, that is when your power is the strongest.”

I tugged on the sleeves of my suit as a nervous tic, running my fingers over and around them repeatedly. This was some juicy stuff. If I knew how to tap into it…

“But… I mean, that makes sense. But when did this happen? I couldn’t do this in the other universe. Did it happen after I came here?”

Loki sat back smugly. “Well, I can tell you that this power didn’t just appear. It has always been a part of you, you just weren’t able to fully tap into it before you came to their universe. Until then, it manifested itself in your writing. I am sure there are multiple alternate universes out there that came as a result…”

I swallowed and thought back to what he had originally told me, about writing worlds into existence… it made sense, now. This power seemed strong enough to do that.

“I don’t get it, she just unlocked it by coming here?” Tony asked in my silence. “Levelled up?”

“No, she didn’t _level up_ , the power was merely dormant in the other world. Always under the surface. Because one thing we know about her world, why you were so out of place, is that—”

“Superpowers didn’t exist there,” I finished with wide eyes. I dared to look at Loki. “That’s why I couldn’t use it. Everyone was normal, so I had to be, too.”

“Exactly. When you came here it became possible for you to access your true abilities. Because of what I told you. You came here for a reason. You were never meant to stay in your universe. Everything that has happened has done so for a specific purpose.”

“What is it?” I asked quickly, the curiosity nagging at my entire body. “What is the purpose? Why would these powers be in… me? What am I supposed to use it for? I’m just a normal person, there’s nothing special about me, and yet you’re acting like I’m the answer to some prophecy, or something…”

Loki pressed his lips together. “It seems we’ve arrived at the subject I cannot answer you about.”

“This is all too mysterious,” I complained, feeling majorly let down. This seemed like the most important question, and now that I’d gotten here, I couldn’t even have it answered?

“It could easily be much _more_ mysterious without the information I am providing.” My eyes flicked up at him.

“I don’t understand, is this your own judgement you’re making or… has someone else told you what I can and can’t know about? Like, where is this coming from? You said it’s not of your own accord…”

“I make my own decisions,” quipped Loki. “No one has directed me what to tell you.”

“Really? Because you don’t seem the type to follow guidelines, not even your own, unless you felt threatened to.”

Thor piped up, sensing the danger in Tony’s quiet tone. “My brother is not the same as you knew him in New York. He’s… different. I don’t think he would try to harm Sami; he’s trying to help. As for why he’s not giving all the information, I don’t know.”

“Do you trust him?”

The thunder god’s gaze narrowed on me and he hesitated. I locked eyes with him, not shrinking away from my question. I needed to know, from him. I could tell something had changed between them, but I also knew what had happened in the other movies, so I had to know how much had really changed. Only Thor knew the honest answer.

“… Yes. I suppose I do trust him.”

I nodded. This was my final answer and it was what I was going with. “Okay, then.”

“I can’t tell you any more about why you have this power because you must find out the truth for yourself,” Loki finally told us. “That is the difference between success and failure. I know what it is meant for but telling you so would be to interfere with fate itself. Believe me, I would love to take the credit for breaking the news to you. But I can only meddle so much. There are lines even _I_ don’t cross.”

I hummed. Peter’s eyebrows were raised, and he seemed to be taking this all in. I sighed and started to ask another question when I noticed something off. It set several alarms in my brain as the room steadily darkened. Thor and Loki immediately jumped off the couch and turned to face the large window that revealed the expanse of outer space to us. Tony clicked his faceplate closed and before I could blink, Peter was wearing his own. I didn’t have time to think about missing out on the rest of our info session because I had to fully assess what was going on.

Something was rising across the window, obscuring all attempts to see past it. It had to be at least several times the size of the ship we were in, which was crazy to even contemplate. I considered what kind of spaceship could be that large, or even better yet, who would own a vehicle of that size.

And then I could sense it. Everything seemed to come into perspective, to fall into place. I knew whose ship it was, whose it _had_ to be…

“Thanos,” I whispered, staring at Loki with wide eyes because he had said it at exactly the same moment as me. The hairs on the back of neck stood straight as sticks and Peter grabbed my arm defensively, a gesture which I normally would have protested against, but I was currently ready to curl up in a ball.

“What is he doing here? Whatever he wants, we do not have it.”

I furrowed my brow. “He’s… he’s looking for Infinity Stones.”

“Well, he’s not going to find any of those here. The Tesseract was destroyed along with Asgard.”

Thor looked so sure until the color began to drain from his face. Loki seemed uneasy and shifted his feet a little.

“Well…” Just like that there was an unspoken understanding that the trickster somehow had the Tesseract on the ship, drawing Thanos to them like a fish to a baited hook. I couldn’t believe what I was (not) hearing. My stomach dropped.

“Loki,” his brother growled seriously. Tony inhaled and I could tell he was watching me.

“Yeah, I think this is our cue. Thor? Do you have this handled? Because I can’t exactly have them here.”

I could practically see his expression. His worst nightmare was coming true, right here, and he had brought two kids right into the center of it. Now he was doing everything he could to get us out of harm’s way.

“Of course. Heimdall will know what to do. We can take care of this.”

I knew that he sounded confident, but it made me worry all the more. This was it, the ultimate bad guy was here, and it was bound to be something that none of us had been prepared for. I didn’t even see Thor’s hammer anywhere.

“I guess I need to do my part, too.” Bruce spoke for the first time in ages, and I supposed he worked quickly, because he was already turning a few shades of green.

Tony ushered us out of the room, making plans as he went.

“I’ll get things ready on earth in case you guys need a place to stay. I’m assuming you will. You’ll have my help, anything I can do.”

The concern they both shared was obvious. Thor nodded. “I appreciate that, Stark. Then I think it won’t be long until our paths cross once again.”

Everything went by in a blur before we even set foot in the Bifrost that returned us home. I felt sick deep in my gut, partially from fear and partially from guilt. I didn’t want to leave Thor but I had no choice in the matter.

Soon we were back at the facility. Peter was inconsolable for the time-being, and if Tony had been obsessed with his lab work recently, he had definitely dialed it up to eleven by this time.

\---

I had been sitting alone in my room for the past thirty minutes, just thinking everything over and trying not to break down. Peter didn’t know what to do and I had asked him to give me a little time to myself. I’d gotten so much new information about my power but it wasn’t enough. It had been cut too short. I was grateful for what I did know, because it was something, but there was still so much I didn’t know. I was boiling with anger at the thought of Loki’s nonchalant attitude about not telling me, like it was no big deal, that I would just _figure it out_.

It was clear that I wouldn’t and that was what made me the most upset. This feeling resonated with me, that I was the clueless one, and that everyone around me knew something I didn’t, and I had no idea what to do.

But that part was fine. I would get over it. I’d find a way to deal with it. What I _couldn’t_ deal with was why we had left. Thanos himself had started to attack Thor’s spaceship. And I could tell that Tony felt the guilt, even worse than me, for leaving them there to face it alone. I thought deep down he understood what we were up against. I knew how strong Thor was… but they had the Tesseract, and I felt like Thanos wouldn’t just give up trying to get it.

I also figured that the only thing that kept Tony from staying to fight was Peter and me. I wasn’t so stupid as to complain, though. It didn’t involve me and I couldn’t face something like that. I hadn’t been ready.

I guessed I got it, now. Why Tony was always so busy getting things done in his lab. He liked being ready; he _didn’t_ like this. And now he was undoubtedly down there, getting things ready in case Thor needed his help, needed his suits, needed a place to stay…

You’d _never_ be prepared. But you could try.

I stood at my door for a good, long while, just thinking about it. I still didn’t know my place in all this, or what I should have done. Inside I knew that I needed to do whatever I could to help, but I was really shaken up from what I had seen before.

I couldn’t get the images out of my head that I had seen in the movies. Of the Avengers all fighting together, bruised and bloody, yet never giving up, still continuing the fight, because not to do so was foolish and dishonorable.

I wondered if they felt like I did. Closed off and shaking, alone in their room, afraid to open the door because it was the beginning of what was going to happen. The more I considered it, the more I was sure they did, and the angrier I became with myself.

I wasn’t going to be scared anymore. I was going to get out there, to be with my boyfriend, to do whatever I could to help Tony, whatever it took. Sure, this was Thanos, but I was with the _Avengers_. The people whose fate it was to ultimately defeat him.

It was just how these things worked.

And maybe Thor had gotten the better of Thanos. Yeah. They were probably fine. Thor was _great_ – he had so many tricks up his sleeve.

Besides, staying in here doing nothing wouldn’t help anything. Before I could talk myself back out of it, I wrenched the door open and stepped outside, sticking my hands as far as possible down into my pockets and starting down the stairs to the lab.

“Hey, Tony.”

His eyes were wide and dark, yet full of determination as he intently watched his monitors, fiddling around with everything quickly, never stopping to reply. I sighed. It weighed heavily on me, because I knew what mode he was in. His regret for leaving was pushing him to do everything in his power to be ready for the worst. I wanted to have a heart-to-heart with him, right then and there, but I also knew that we both needed to be okay, and that it wasn’t the best time to tear into our feelings.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled, never yet laying his eyes on me. “No, really, I’m good. We’re all safe here, right?”

Tony slammed down whatever he was holding and rubbed at his forehead. I winced. I knew how he was feeling. It didn’t seem right to be safe while his teammate was likely fighting to stay alive, knowing that we could have stayed to help but didn’t.

“Do you need anything?” I asked regardless of how stupid I sounded. His voice softened, shockingly.

“I’m just a little stressed right now, trying to get everything ready for half of Asgard to crash here. I don’t know what you could do.”

I shifted my gaze around, nodding and attempting to think of what to say. “Tony, do you think this is really it? Is he coming here, next?”

It hurt like ripping off a fresh bandage but someone had to say it. Tony was looking in my direction and finally, his eyes climbed up to mine.

“I couldn’t say for sure, but it doesn’t look like the odds are in our favor, Small Fry.”

I took note of how strongly he was trying to keep his cool. “Well, we need to talk.”

Tony raised both of his eyebrows at me and it sent such a clear message that I immediately began backtracking. “No, not about that. Not right now. That’s too much. I’m talking about… our plan for this.”

“Oh, I already have that taken care of. I’m sending you two to Clint’s.”

I was speechless for a second. “Umm…!”

“Yeah, speaking of which, you two should get packed up. Happy’s going to drop you off there as soon as possible.”

“Have you… asked him?”

Tony waved it off. “What’s he gonna do, turn you away? Just put on your best puppy dog eyes, he’ll cave. Parenthood does that to you.”

I sighed. I knew I had to turn the mood back to serious, so I was quiet for a moment. I couldn’t believe that he thought the best thing to do was to send us away. His plan really confused me. We definitely had to stay together and splitting up only seemed detrimental at this point. But I couldn’t focus on that; it wasn’t what I came down here to talk about.

“Look, I think that… I came to say that I think you should call him. I mean, it’s not gonna be a good thing if you two are still at odds when things get serious. He probably has no clue what’s going on and I think it’s a good idea if you gave him a heads up. Maybe you could work together—”

He automatically knew who I meant. “What, you want me to crawl back to him now that things finally got serious, now that I might need him, or whatever? Yeah, that’s gonna go over really well.”

It was a stretch to keep my persuasive expression on my face, but I managed it. “Tony, Steve will understand. He’ll want to help. And if not for you, for everyone else that would be affected if he didn’t.”

“How do you know anything about me calling him?” Tony asked in an accusatory phone. “I don’t have any way to contact him…”

I scoffed. “Pfft, not true. I know all about the phone he gave you and everything. You can definitely call him.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Was that really in the movie?”

“Oh yeah. At the end. One of the best parts.”

“We’ll see about that. Look, go get ready to go. Let Peter know what’s going on.”

“Why are you sending us away?” I demanded, finally going with the change of subject now that I had confirmation. “Why can’t we stay here?”

“Because I have… stuff to do. Besides, you two can smooth things over for my arrival. It won’t be long. I’ll head over there once I get things under control here.”

“So… we’re the peace offering.”

“Exactly. I’m about to put a time limit on you, now. No more distracting me, pack a bag. _One_ bag.”

\---

Before I knew it, I was sitting in the backseat of a black car with Peter to my left. Happy sat in the driver’s seat and was about to take off with us all the way to Iowa. I heaved a weighted breath, prepared with a pillow and a phone full of music for the long trip. I closed my eyes for a moment of serenity, as the silence between Peter and I was comforting, but I was interrupted when there was a knock on my window.

I immediately began to roll it down, recognizing the figure standing on the other side of the tinted glass. Tony Stark was revealed with his brown eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

Just then something landed in my lap. It didn’t hurt but it made a light thud. I looked down and saw the flip-phone that I knew was given to him from Steve.

“What?” I asked furiously, rearing to throw it back out to him.

“Woah, woah, I’m giving it to you so that the decision is on you. He’ll come for you, and _only_ you. Not me. Now you get to be the judge of when to call. Make sure you actually need him, though. Just pretend like you stole it from me to call him. Because let’s be honest. Argue all you want – we both knew I was never going to call him.”

I was stunned, frozen in disbelief and anger. All I could do was stare at him with my mouth wide open, making unintelligible noises of protest. Peter’s smirk radiated from next to me as he waved.

“Bye, Mr. Stark.”

Tony snickered. “See you kids around. Don’t do anything stupid until I get there. Or even after.”

The window slowly rolled back up into position and the car began leaving the facility without another word being spoken. I finally crossed my arms and clenched my jaw irritably, not bringing myself to even look at the flip phone that lay in the seat between us.

“Wow, I can’t believe it…”

“I know, me neither! I mean, it’s like Tony somehow thinks he can dump all of his problems on me and that I’ll deal with them for him. But one day he’s going to have to grow up and face this himself. I can’t always be the one to smooth things over for him or be his peace treaty. Actually, I’m really tired of it. But Tony Stark always gets his way, I guess.”

I looked over at Peter and met his shocked eyes. He stuttered to reply.

“Oh, I was just talking about how old this phone is. I didn’t think anyone owned a flip-phone anymore.”

I melted and my anger stifled until all that was left was regret and sympathy. “Oh… oh, okay. Sorry. I thought you were… yeah, that is pretty crazy. It’s from Steve, after all. He’s really into old fashioned stuff.” Instantly I wished I could be more like Peter, just happy to be here and doing what seemed like a helpful thing. He’d already shown how glad he was to get to meet Clint. Our reactions were like two different extremes.

Peter furrowed his brow at me. My response didn’t work. “You’re really upset about this, huh?”

I shrugged, trying to play it off, but it was too late. “I guess it just bothers me that I’m always the go-between and that Tony is so afraid of making amends with Steve. I hate to see them so distant and I want the team back together more than anything. But, I think he was right. Tony was never actually planning to call him. So… I guess it’s on me.”

“When do you think you’ll do it?”

I bit my lip. “I don’t know. Probably not for a while. Not until I’m sure that there’s a threat. I don’t want to call him into something that isn’t a big deal yet. I feel like the Avengers only come together when the world really needs them to.”

Peter got this faraway look in his gaze. I decided to be the one to make him feel better, for once.

“Well, let’s look on the bright side. Now that it’s my job, it’ll be done right and Steve will have no chance of not coming, because Tony had a point. He feels responsible for me. So it’s fine.”

“Is it though?” he questioned, clenching his jaw. I almost smirked, and then I looked down at where he had grabbed my hand on the seat between us. I thought about everything that was happening and everything that would happen, and somehow I didn’t feel so scared.

“I’m going to make it fine.”


	15. Chapter 15

My expression hadn’t turned out like I hoped it would. I was going for apologetic and regretful but desperate at the same time. But all Clint had to say, as he stared at me judgmentally, was,

“Why are you looking at me like a kicked puppy?” I rolled my eyes.

“Because Tony sent us here. We need a place to stay, I guess.”

“You don’t seem so sure,” quipped Clint. Luckily he pulled us inside and closed the door behind us. I huffed.

“Oh, I’m sure. Our ride just ditched us.”

“So what, he thinks I need another peace treaty?” He connected the dots quickly. “What happened? And who is this guy?”

Clint sounded so demanding, but I knew he was just concerned about a stranger barging in on his family’s home without any warning. So I responded as gently as I knew how.

“Uh, this is um… Peter. He’s my… we’re um…” I hesitated just long enough to make it awkward and for Clint to get the idea.

“Oh. Oh, this is him?”

“Hi, Mr. Barton. We kinda met before, when I was helping Mr. Stark back in Berlin. Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t know what was going on, or that you’d all be there… I was just doing what I was told.”

Clint hummed, pressing his lips tightly closed. “Hmm. Well, I guess you couldn’t help it…”

It was a small, insignificant statement, but it lifted so much off of my shoulders. I would have hated it if we had to stay here with the archer and he had it out for Peter the whole time. I didn’t want there to be any grudges, any friction between them, because that would just put me in a really bad spot. I was glad to see that he didn’t seem to have anything against Peter after what had happened. Then, Clint simply had to add,

“Tony’s pretty good at blackmailing people.”

I tried so hard to ignore this in hopes that we could pretend like it never happened. “He’s coming here in a little while, by the way. He just sent us first because—”

“To butter me up?”

“He just had… stuff to do. Maybe he just wanted to be alone. A lot has happened recently that needs to be thought over.”

“I don’t understand what could have happened that somehow involves me.”

I blinked at him. “Well, it’s a lot to explain. We just saw Thor. Tony has to get a place together for like, half of Asgard. It was looking pretty rough for him. And Bruce was there. He’s alive.”

I was breathing heavily and I felt like I was going to pass out. It was like saying all of this out loud made it that much more real. I’d been there in person, but I only felt the weight of it now that I had to talk about it. Clint just made a thoughtful, confused face.

“Hmm. Okay. You guys must need a place to sleep, then. Hey, Laura…”

I checked the time on a nearby clock. It was well past ten at night, almost eleven. His kids were without a doubt already down for the night, and I felt a pang of sympathy, knowing that we had very much interrupted a quiet evening. However, I was definitely taken aback by the fact that Clint had given up the interrogation for tonight. I guessed he figured he could get the most out of us if we were rested up.

Soon I was lying long ways on their sofa with a pillow under my head and a warm throw blanket pulled over me. I was snuggled down into the squishy cushions, listening to Peter’s heavy breathing on the floor parallel to me, and my eyes were already heavy. But I couldn’t fall asleep.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. I just couldn’t stop thinking.

It was the same problem I had in the car. I couldn’t shut my brain off and at first I didn’t want to. I thought about all that had happened, needing to mull it over. What I considered first was Clint’s reaction. I supposed I was pleasantly surprised by it, but the awkwardness was unavoidable. I wondered if Tony was okay. For some reason I felt responsible for his emotional state. I knew I really couldn’t do anything about it, but I was always the one to make him feel better. And… oddly enough, he did the same for me. But I understood the need for alone time.

I failed to wrap my mind around it. Thanos had appeared. The ultimate villain had been _right there_. It was the kind of feeling I had never experienced before and never wanted to again. But I had a premonition that I would, somehow.

That’s what I kept seeing in Tony’s eyes and in Peter’s. A mirror reflection of my own fear and uncertainty. I’d purposefully left that part out of my initial explanation to Clint. I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it to a person who hadn’t seen…

I didn’t know what it meant for us, but it proved that he was out there. If he wanted Thor, then he probably wanted the other most powerful people on Earth, too. And it meant that he was real, not just the villain that was hinted at in the movies I had watched. I wasn’t sure what he wanted with the Infinity Stones, but it definitely had to do with destruction.

For the first time, I was glad that I had shown the team that post-credits scene from their first movie and explained to them what was going on. Maybe they’d be better prepared.

That wasn’t to say I wasn’t worried, though. I tried so, so hard to be as chill as possible, but the fear still lingered. Sometimes I felt it stronger than others, and this was one of those times.

Not knowing what was going on was eating at me. It was killing me to know what happened with Thor and Loki when Thanos came. None of us had any idea of how powerful he was, or what it would take to get the Tesseract…

I felt like Tony now, letting my anxiety take over and force me to think of all the possible outcomes. I began thinking about my part in all this, what I would be able to do to help. Then I began to stress when I considered that I actually might have some sort of role in this. I couldn’t get Loki’s words out of my head.

_“It’s either that you were meant to be here because you’re different and important for something, or you are some kind of inhuman anomaly.”_

I had to get some sleep, and the only way to do that was to trust that it would be fine and that I would find everything out tomorrow. Which would come a lot faster if I could just fall asleep. I had to step out of my chaotic mind, and into the quietness of my surroundings. So I turned over and found myself staring at Peter’s sleeping form, watching as his stomach rose and dropped with every breath. He seemed so peaceful… I hoped he was having dreams that matched his expression. The hopeful thought soothed me instantly.

And with that, my eyes slowly grew heavy and I was able to drift off to sleep.

\---

I woke up abruptly to the sounds of life. It was like night and day compared to the way I usually woke at the facility. Kids were chattering, silverware was clanging against dishes, and coffee was being sipped. It was the noise of a normal morning routine for this family. I knew it pretty well, and it comforted me in a way that nothing else could have at the time.

As I was lying there, it dawned on me why it was a good thing that Tony sent us here. It wasn’t just so that he could be alone. It wasn’t to give him the opportunity to do things behind our back. And it wasn’t only for us to be the peace treaty, or whatever.

It was to give us a moment of normality. Tony had saved Laura from having to remove herself and the kids from the situation immediately, which would put everyone in a tense position. With him, the grown-ups would be planning, the kids would be upset that their dad is most likely going back into the danger, and Peter and I would be wracked with worry. But… it was just us. Two teenagers with relatively simple lives (except for one being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man) who could talk about aliens to Clint and turn around to play with his kids without it being an issue.

We were the go-betweens and it wasn’t a bad thing. It actually made me glad, because I had Peter here, who understood my side of things, and I was given the chance to have a little bit more time of calm before I would be undoubtedly thrown into things that were a lot more complicated.

And suddenly, I started to dread the moment when Tony came back. Because that made the seriousness real all over again.

I got up, quietly so as to not disturb Peter, who was still sound asleep as far as I could tell. I slipped into the bathroom since no one had yet noticed that I was up.

Once I was satisfied with my hair that was as tidy as it was going to get, I came out of the restroom dressed in my second outfit, suit still underneath, of course, finally feeling presentable enough to greet the hosts. I tiptoed gingerly into the kitchen and poked my head around where they were eating breakfast. I had spent enough time with this family to not feel so timid around them, like they were strangers.

I was not surprised to see that Peter had made himself at home at their table and was chowing down on scrambled eggs and bacon and toast, chatting with the kids and Laura. I cleared my throat, as it seemed they were all distracted.

The woman, who had been standing over everyone else, watching them amusedly, looked up at me first. “Sami, hi! It’s good to see you!”

She approached me for a hug warmly, and I almost flinched, but when I looked into her brown eyes my apprehension faded. An old friend. I had felt like a lot had changed since I was last here, but it clearly hadn’t, for her.

“Can I get you anything?”

I shook my head softly and looked down. “I’ll grab something if I need it, I’m not hungry yet.”

“Okay. How did you sleep? I hope everything was okay last night, because I didn’t get a chance to see you much. I’m sure you were tired.”

I nodded. “Yeah… yeah I was. Sorry that it was so last minute…”

“Don’t worry about it, we’re always happy to have you. And the kids are really taking to your… friend.”

I took note of how she hesitated to say _friend_ , and it was clear. She knew. I hummed thoughtfully.

“He’s always been pretty popular with kids.”

“Sami!”

I looked down, making dramatic grunts as someone had rushed into me, tackling me with a hug. Lila was staring up at me excitedly, although there wasn’t as much of a gap between our heights as there had been the last time I’d seen her.

“Hey kiddo! It’s so great to see you!”

“You said you’d come back,” she told me, still smiling.

“And I always keep my promises, right?” The girl nodded. “Wow, you’ve gotten so tall, Lila. I can’t believe it.”

“Dad says I’m going to be taller than Cooper by next year!”

“That’s not going to happen!” her big brother hollered back from the table where he was sitting beside Peter. I entered the area slowly, studying the superhuman who seemed to be in his element. He had shaken the morning grogginess off better than I had, but his hair was still a mess. When he met my eyes, all I could do was smile.

“So can you shoot them out your hands?” Cooper was asking curiously. Peter shook his head.

“I have to make my own web fluid and Mr. Stark puts it into my suit so I can shoot it from there.”

The boy’s eyes were wide. “ _Cool_ ,” he breathed. “Could I maybe see your suit, later?”

“Later,” Peter agreed through a large mouthful of toast, nodding. He looked up and gestured me to sit by him. I finally obliged and took the empty chair next to Peter. I figured that he had decided to share who he was with the kids to give them something to relate to, instead of being the stranger that no one knew anything about. I giggled at how starstruck they all seemed and how much of a kick my boyfriend was surely getting out of it all.

“Hey, uh, does anyone know where Clint is?”

“Probably in his usual hiding spot. He likes to go up there to think, or to watch.”

I sighed in understanding, and Peter looked very confused. I stood and grabbed a piece of bacon before we headed out, promising the kids that we’d catch up later. I just needed to have a good talk with Clint that preceded anything else unexpected.

We found him outside, up in the rafters of his barn, crouching in the shadows. I pursed my lips at Peter knowingly, who appeared very on-edge.

“Clint, I know you’re up there. Can we talk, now?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“I’d like to see you when I’m talking, honestly.”

“Too bad.”

I sighed as audibly as possible. “Whatever. Would you like to know what’s been going on?”

“Preferably.”

I was very frustrated, but it was nothing I hadn’t handled before, and Peter just appeared amused about it all. “So Tony sent us here because… because we went to see Thor, and things went wrong.”

“Things? What things?”

“I… it was my idea. I wanted to find Loki so that he could tell me more about my power.”

“What? You’re kidding, right? What would ever make you want to do that?”

His feet hit the ground and he was standing beside me, staring at me with a demanding expression. At least he had finally come down. I crossed my arms and my eyelids fluttered.

“It’s a long story. But he is the one who told me I had this power in the beginning. I thought he could give more information and that we could find out where Thor was all at the same time. I don’t know, I was pretty desperate.”

Clint scoffed. “What made you so desperate?”

“Because I blew up an observatory.”

He stuttered. “Excuse me?”

“Uh-huh. With my power. Again, it’s a long story.”

“She was kidnapped,” Peter supplied with a helpful tone. Clint furrowed his brow.

“This happened _again_? And your power… did that?”

I was glad he didn’t stay focused on the problem with Damon – I wasn’t about to explain to him why it happened. But I nodded, sticking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

“Yeah. Tony was scared that I would blow something else up on accident, so he made me this suit to block it. But I still needed to know what all I can do.”

“Was your goal accomplished?” he asked in a skeptical tone.

“Well… I got something. That’s more than nothing.” Clint narrowed his blue eyes at me.

“Then what happened? Loki turned on you? I can’t imagine he was ready to sit down and dish out information as important as that.”

“But that’s basically what happened,” Peter said before I could reply, sounding astonished but sure. “Loki wasn’t even the problem. We talked for a while, until…”

“Until he came,” I went on. Clint stared at us.

“Who came?”

“Thanos.”

The three of us turned around on our heels to see Tony stepping into the barn. “Sorry, that didn’t really need a context. I can take over the explanation from here.”

I couldn’t make a sentence up with words that made sense even in my head. “Uhhh…?”

“Tony,” Clint finally acknowledged him in a high-pitched tone of surprise. “I didn’t think you’d come so early.”

“Well, you know. Schedule opened up a little.”

I grew afraid immediately, because I knew that the passive-aggressive sarcasm was pouring out of both Clint and Tony, and how easily the archer got frustrated with my adoptive father’s decisions. They definitely needed a mediator. I planned on going nowhere.

“Yeah, I guess I know the feeling. What exactly has been on your schedule?”

“It’s just that Asgard is gone, so Thor’s people need a place to stay. I had him swing by and drop them off.”

Clint was at a loss. “I, uh, heard about that…? That’s for real?”

“Yeah, I didn’t get the whole story, but currently half of Asgard is at the facility with Bruce and some chick. Didn’t catch her name. They seem like okay supervision for now.”

“And we’re just… moving on from that?”

“Well, when attack is imminent, that’s kinda the only thing I know to do.”

“Attack? From Thanos?”

Tony bit his lip. “All the signs point to it. Sami was right. He’s looking for the Stones. He got the Tesseract and now he’s headed to Earth, as far as we can tell.”

I suddenly felt light-headed and like I could have passed out. But I fought for stability.

“Tony, what happened with Thor? Is he okay? What about Loki?”

Tony turned to face me, holding my gaze for the first time so far. “He seems as good as I could have expected. Just pretty stressed. Loki disappeared, apparently. No sign of him after Thanos took the Stone. He said he has to find a new weapon, he knows how, but it’ll take a little bit. And then he’s supposedly coming back to help us.”

I exhaled my nerves. None of this sounded good. Except for Thor and the people being alive… it all made me feel sick. It was so real, now. Thanos had gotten the Tesseract. Thor and Loki… they had failed. And they failed with one Stone, then… how much of a chance did we really have to protect all of them? Especially if he already had a couple to fight with…

Gosh, I thought too much. I really needed to stop with that.

“So… if I could put in my two cents here… um, why are you three at my house? I mean, the food and the atmosphere are great, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that the action doesn’t seem to be here, yet.”

“Because, uh — hey, kids, the grown-ups are talking. Could we have a little privacy, for a sec?”

I shook my head. “No, I want to be a part of this. We’re involved in this, too, and—”

“He’s right, we’ll be fine without your input for a little bit.”

I snapped my head over to Clint, who shrugged. They both had such certain looks on their faces that I knew there was no use in any more protesting.

“You’ll survive without being there for every conversation, to make sure we’re acting mature, or something. Some things don’t need to be micromanaged.”

I huffed and sneered and tried to blow it off as I stormed out of the barn into the grass outside.

\---

The kids plus Peter had started up a casual game of soccer while I sat on the ground, lost in thought and cool outdoor air. I picked at the green grass around my feet and tried to soak in the sun, but I was focused too much on all that was going on without me to enjoy it very much.

I had just been persuaded to get up and join the game, but I barely noticed that the ball was kicked over to me by Nathaniel. It hit my feet and I looked down.

“Oh, sorry, here you go, buddy.”

Peter caught my eye and we shared a look that was articulate enough to not need words. I was much too distracted and he was concerned about me, and all of it. Tony and Clint had moved their discussion into the house, still not letting us take any part in it. It was absolutely _killing_ me, but I guess it just proved their point that much more.

He opened his mouth and drew a deep breath, as the kids were momentarily distracted, but he was not given time to speak before we both turned around to the left, alarmed by a weird _whooshing_ noise behind us.

An orange, sparking portal had opened and I gasped. My knowledge of what it had to be was confirmed when no other than Doctor Strange stepped out and looked around. He seemed unfazed, however, and his eyes landed upon us.

“I’m looking for Tony Stark. Is he here?”

Peter closed his mouth with wide eyes and immediately pointed to the house at our backs and to the right. I had the feeling that we both gulped. He nodded and quickly crossed the yard, climbed the stairs to the porch and slammed the door in his path.

I shot a glimpse at Peter and knew exactly what our next move was. We were going in there.

“Come on. I’m the only one here who actually knows who that is.”

We stepped into the house and found the three heroes in the kitchen. Tony looked like he’d been leaning against the counter but was now standing up, attention raised. Clint still sat with his arms crossed even though a stranger had just stormed into his house.

“Well, this day is already going wonderfully…”

“Stark, I’m going to need you to come with me to New York,” Strange was saying. Tony got defensive.

“Uh, I’m sorry, I was always told not to leave with strangers unless there was candy.”

“Very funny, but this is serious.”

“Right, I noticed. Sorry, your cape is a little… distracting. Why am I supposed to take you seriously? Who the heck _are_ you?”

“I’m Doctor Stephen Strange—”

“Master of the mystic arts, Sorcerer Supreme, protector of the New York Sanctum, long story, but... he’s one of the good guys.”

Strange furrowed his brow at me. “Excuse me?”

“Good movie?”

“One of my favorites,” I told Tony, who nodded, almost smiling.

“Right. Okay, so you might have the stamp of approval, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna up and leave with you—”

“How much bearing does this girl’s impression of me have on you?” Strange asked, tone full of contempt.

“This _girl_ is my – she knows a lot more about things than any of us, so yeah, I’m going to trust her over some _kids’_ _magician_.” Tony’s face darkened and he furrowed his brow contemplatively. “What happened in New York?”

“There was an attack. Scratch that; it’s still going on. A large spaceship has entered the atmosphere over Manhattan and will touch down very soon. We don’t know what kind of alien life it contains, but they seem hostile and they’re undoubtedly looking for this.”

The sorcerer held up the glowing green Stone around his neck, and I soon noticed how worn he looked, like he’d already been fighting for his life.

“It’s all I can do to keep them from getting their hands on it. New York needs the Avengers on this because you have some experience in the arena, so we have to go, now, to hold them off. Would you happen to know where the rest are, by any chance?”

“Uh, we can work that part out later. I, uh… be there in a second.”

Weirdly, Clint seemed the most chill about this whole arrangement, but I wasn’t. I shot daggers at Tony through eye contact and he evidently got the message. I didn’t care if he had to go – I understood that. But he wasn’t about to leave without talking to me.

I took Tony’s lead and within seconds we were enclosed in a nearby bedroom, away from the prying eyes and ears of the others. I took a breath and spoke, unwilling to let him get the first word in.

“We’re coming with you.”

“Nope, don’t even go there. You’re not. You’re _not_.”

“Um, yeah! If you think I’m just going to let you—”

“Do you really think I’m going to let _you_?”

I faltered. “Well, no but…”

“Smart. Good talk. We can pick this back up—”

“Tony, I know you have to go, but I can’t just stay here. There’s too much I don’t know that I have to work through. And if this all involves me, somehow, then I have to come.”

“You’ll work it out. I can’t solve this problem for you, Small Fry. I have plenty of other things to worry about now. Try not to make me so concerned about you, okay? Besides, I’m not the only one who would want to help you.”

He said this so pointedly that I shrunk and nodded. His message was clear. He may not have been taking me with him, but it wasn’t like I had no other way to get to New York. I did have plenty of allies because I refrained from getting on people’s bad side as much as possible. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. But what about you? Be safe, too. I don’t want to have to come through and save you, this time.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Don’t get all stuck-up on me now that I’ve made you feel better. And don’t do anything stupid. Because I _will_ find out, and it won’t be pretty.”

“Stupid according to your standards, or mine?”

He sighed. “Stupid according to anything that could get you killed.”

I froze. The light banter had ended and all that was left was implications of Thanos. “Uh, right. Okay. I’ll be safe. And you…?”

“I’ve got all I need right here.” Tony tapped the glowing nano-housing unit on his chest, then pointed at me. “Don’t take that suit off. Promise me.”

I raised my eyebrows, alarmed by the random request. “But what if I have to—”

“Promise me, Sami.”

His eyes were so serious, so pleading, that I had to give in, no matter how uneasy I felt. “Whatever. I don’t like it, but I’ll leave it on.” Tony nodded and my eyes stung. Just like that, he walked back out the door, patted Peter on the back once, and disappeared out the front door after Stephen. I hurried to the front porch just to watch him step through the glowing magical portal to New York that had materialized in the middle of the yard and faded as soon as they had gone. He had never even looked back. I supposed that was the burden of being a hero. You didn’t always get that liberty.

I swallowed, and Clint was suddenly beside me. A wave of queasiness washed over me like a breeze, and I felt myself go pale.

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

The archer nodded. “It’s about time.”

\---

I had been in the bathroom, just sitting on the tile floor, for so long that finally Peter started knocking.

“Sami, are you okay? Please tell me you are. If you… if you need to talk about anything… I know how you feel.”

I decided to get up, then, figuring it was no different in here than out there, and my stomach was definitely already emptied, anyway. I opened the door and sheepishly rubbed my arms.

“I’m fine, I just felt… really sick for a minute. But I’m over it, now. I was just thinking.”

All of a sudden a glass of clear carbonated liquid was shoved into my hands. I narrowed my eyes at Clint.

“What the heck did you mean before, _it’s about time_?”

He shrugged. “It was a lot for you to take in. We’ve officially shifted into saving the world mode. It’s go-time. I’d be confused if you weren’t sick about it. Everyone feels it at first, until they get used to it.”

I shook my head and furrowed my brow, taking a sip of the drink. “Are you saying that even the Avengers threw up on their first time, you know… doing this?”

“Hey, there’s certain things they leave out of the montage before the battle. Makes us look better.”

I clicked my tongue, and then something hit me. “I have to keep this suit on, so what am I supposed to use?”

Peter crossed his arms beside me and I saw out of the corner of my eye that he cleared his throat and tried to look as cool as possible. I almost smirked.

“I don’t know, I might have an extra bow I could hook you up with…”

“Oh, no. I tried that last time and it didn’t work well at all. Don’t you have, like, something smaller I could fit in my bag, like a gun?”

Clint hummed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

(one recent weekend at the facility)

I was sitting back on the couch in Tony and Pepper’s living area, away from my room because I wasn’t tired yet and I felt like spending time with them. I didn’t have to leave until tomorrow. I wanted to relish in the time that I had left with my family and not think about going back to college, yet. I crossed one pajama-pants leg over the other and blinked at Tony.

“I’m thinking we should do a test-run.”

I scowled. “You’re kidding, right? You get that I just came over here to relax and see Ashton. That’s it. If I’d known you were planning to do this, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Yeah, right,” he replied skeptically. “Hey, I didn’t plan on it, but you brought it up, so…”

“Listen, I tell you things sometimes that bother me, but in confidence that you won’t take it as a challenge to start doing a science experiment on me!”

“Yeah I don’t know why you still do that. You know that’s not what happens. Ever.”

I sat back hard in a huff, frowning. “It’s really not that big of deal, though…”

“Oh yeah? You can see visions of the future and it’s not a big deal? I’d like to know what you consider to be a _big deal_ , then.”

I glared at him. “So what do you even want to do to find out about it? I don’t even know what I can do. It’s not like you can follow the scientific method.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at me. “You’d better stop arguing with me now before I have to show you that you’re wrong for thinking that I’d just be okay with my kid seeing the future and not knowing why or how.”

I went quiet as the rebuttal died in my throat. “Fine. Then what do you want to do about it?”

He seemed satisfied and almost giddy now that I had given in. “I just think we should test it. Try it out, tell me what you see, and then we check if it happens or not.”

I moaned. “Okay, whatever. Let’s try it on you.”

“Do you have to… touch me?”

I rolled my eyes because it was such a stupid-sounding mental picture, of me connecting with his energy, or something. “No, I just have to focus. So don’t distract me.”

I closed my eyes and breathed in and out once. I thought of what I wanted to do. I wanted to see what would happen to Tony within the next few minutes. It all came over me in a rush – I didn’t even really see anything. I just knew what it would look like. I opened my eyes suddenly.

“You’re going to be disappointed. And then you’ll be holding Ashton. Smiling for a minute. And then… disgusted. Angry.”

He didn’t even blink. “I—”

“Hey, Tony, I’m going to the shower.” Tony’s face, though it had been concerned, lit up seeing his wife.

“Really?” Pepper nodded and moved Ashton from off her hip.

“Uh-huh. And you’re going to hold this little guy until I get back. Could be a while. He just had his bath, too, so he’s all clean for Dad.”

Before he could move an inch or protest the baby was shoved into his arms and he deflated. “Right. Got it. Have fun.”

I smirked widely once Pepper was out of sight and Tony pursed his lips at me.

“Very funny. Now how did you do that? You saw it before it happened?”

I shook my head. “I mean, I saw pictures. Flashes. I just had this feeling. And I wouldn’t really describe this as seeing the future. It’s just… knowing the probabilities of things if nothing changes.”

“That’s really weird…” he mutters. “It’s completely different from the dreams, right? Which I get, too. So this is something unique for you, for your power. How often do you do it?”

I bit my lip nervously. “I don’t know, hardly ever. To be honest, it kinda scares me.”

“I’m thinking we could use it.”

My eyes widened. “What? Like for fights and stuff? No. That’s cheating. You’re not supposed to know what’s going to happen. I can’t… I can’t mess with the time-continuum like that.”

Tony never broke our eye contact as Ashton made little unintelligible baby sounds. “Then why do you have it?”

The unanswered question remained as such in the silence. I looked around, unable to think up a response. Apparently, the superhero wasn’t really looking for one, since he didn’t even attempt to think up one himself.

“Hey, what did you say about disgusted, again? Because that was obviously wrong,” Tony said, bouncing Ashton slightly in his arms. I just smiled when something struck me.

“Check his diaper.”

His gaze snapped up at me. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Within seconds he was grumpily treading to the nursery, making a face. “It doesn’t take long for you to use your powers to mock me, does it?”

\---

I was miraculously healed of my sickness and soon selecting weapons and preparing for the trip. Actually, I supposed it was just the adrenaline getting to me. The sense of duty and helping my friends save New York very much counteracted any feeling of fear or hesitation I felt.

Both Peter and Clint were surprisingly (really only the latter was surprising) supportive with me during the whole process. I wasn’t forced into it. At least not by them. Truthfully, Clint gave me a choice. He made sure he sat me down and that I knew what I was getting into before we left.

“So, we’re about to leave, and this is it, kid. Are you willfully choosing to go and defend New York from aliens? It’s your choice, anyway. And I think you know what to expect.”

I swallowed and then inhaled. “You know… just give me a minute.”

I felt like I had been entirely disconnected from Peter for the duration of our time at this house. We had barely talked about our circumstance in the car and now I was making the decision to help Tony out and risk our lives, all that. Peter had been noticeably quiet about it all, and the last thing I wanted to do was go into without knowing how he felt.

I found him sitting on the empty bed in Lila’s room, which had been given to us for getting ready. He wore his suit, although the helmet had been removed, and he looked up when he sensed my entry, rubbing his eye hastily.

“Oh, hey, sorry, I was just coming.”

I turned to push the door closed and quickly sat beside him before he could rise from his seat. “No, it’s okay. I’ve been thinking a lot, too. This is kind of a big deal for us.”

“It’s just that… it’s unprecedented for me, I guess. Saving people, individuals, is different than saving New York. I’m more used to smaller scale things. And if this is Thanos…?”

“I know.” I nodded softly. “I’m scared, Peter.”

His brown eyes met mine, and for a second I saw relief. “I’m glad you’re being real with me, because I am, too.”

For the moment, it was dead silent, but that was what calmed me the most, that neither of us had to be brave. At least not then. We could be afraid together, not afraid to admit our feelings but of what faced us. My eyes brimmed with heavy tears and Peter took a shaky breath, both entirely vulnerable gestures. This time I didn’t have to be the one to grab his hand or any other such gesture.

He looked back at me, and his gaze lingered for a few seconds before I interpreted his expression and leaned in to kiss him, simultaneous with his own movement.

A few tears stained my cheeks when I finally spoke up.

“I guess it doesn’t matter though,” I told him. “Fear isn’t a part of the equation in these things, no matter how strong it is. Tony needs us.”

Peter nodded and mustered up a determined expression. “He needs all the help he can get. Are you going to call Steve soon?”

“Soon,” I answered. “I’ll find the right time.”

We stood, at last, as I gripped on to his hand for dear life. I tried to savor this moment of fear and realness as long as it lasted, because I knew I was about to have to suck it up really quick to go out there and talk to Clint.

“It’s what heroes do, right?”

I almost smiled. “Yeah.”

We found Clint sitting outside on the porch – perched on the railing with his legs dangling over the outside. He was merely staring out into the distance, studying the clouds in the sky. I tapped on his shoulder to make sure he was watching my lips, leaving no chance for him not to hear or understand my next words, because they were important and I didn’t want to repeat myself.

“I know what I have to do, now. Because my only alternative is to sit around and let whatever happens happen. And you’re right; I’m too much of a control freak to be okay with that. I don’t know what I can do to help, but I can find something. All of this… it somehow has to do with me and I have to figure out why. So I’m coming. Tony said something before he left, when I was scared for him to go. It was that he wasn’t the only one who would want to help me. I think he wanted to me to come, and he’s right. We have to work as a team, or this is all useless.”

Clint smirked and seemed pleased. “Good call. I already contacted Wanda and Vision. Apparently, your job is to call Steve, and from what I can tell, Nat and Sam are still with him.”

I heaved a deep breath. “Yeah. So you don’t have anything else to say? Wait… were you trying to get me to talk myself out of it, or into it?”

He looked away. “I figured you’d do that yourself. I wanted you to weigh it out in your own mind before deciding. And yeah, I would have convinced you to go even if you somehow didn’t do it yourself. But I knew you would.”

“Finally, someone who gets it and lets me come to my own conclusions,” I sighed, gesturing to him. He frowned.

“If this is aimed at Tony, I’m totally on his side about you. It’s not like I’m sending you two alone. You still need supervision. Maybe it seems like you came to your own conclusion, but _I’m_ the one letting you go.”

I narrowed my eyes at his correctional expression. I figured that he and Tony would have to duke it out for who was the most smart-alecky. They were similar in that they both used it against me to never let me win an argument. I just huffed and changed the subject, ignoring his manipulative explanation.

“Well, so we’re just going to leave? How are we gonna get there? I don’t think we exactly have five hours to drive back to New York anymore.”

“About that… I think Tony hooked you up.”

I stared at him quizzically. He merely stood and pointed to his garage on other side of his house, connected by a gravel driveway. Peter was on the ball before I was, racing down there. Both of us each stopped in our tracks, looking at something very out of place with the other objects inside the garage.

I hesitated until Clint arrived behind us. “… My car? How did it get here?”

All three pairs of eyes were glued to the shining silver car in front of us. “Tony. He said that it would know what to do.”

“Tom?” Peter asked. I made a pensive face and decisively opened the door and sat inside. He followed my lead. The interior of the vehicle lit up even though I hadn’t touched anything or even started the engine.

“Hello, Sami. What can I do for you?”

A smile tugged at my temples as I hadn’t heard this familiar voice in so long. “Um, hey, Tom. I—”

“You named your car Tom?” I heard Clint ask distantly. I just rolled my eyes.

“We need to get to New York as quickly as possible,” I went on. “It’s kind of an emergency. Um, does Tony have some sort of program—”

“Not to worry, Sami. I have protocol for this. If you would step out, please…”

Peter and I both had no qualms with exiting the car, and it wasted no time in pulling forward and out of the garage by itself. Clint watched skeptically, but his eyes had a certain knowing glint to them, as well. We followed my rather intuitive car out into his front yard, eyeing it closely.

Something was definitely happening, but at first it was difficult for me to tell what, exactly. There was a lot of movement of shimmering metal, and I saw the nano-particles – rather than hunks or sections of metal – shifting around. I blinked a few times and suddenly my car was no longer there.

In its place stood a helicopter.

I was speechless. “Um… did that just happen?” Peter smiled widely.

“Yeah it did,” Clint replied, inspecting it. I shook my head.

“Is my car a Transformer, or something?”

“If I may, those are the cars that transfigure into robots, correct?” Tom said, and we all confirmed it for the artificial intelligence. “Then I am not. Mr. Stark has not put any such program in place.”

“Yet,” murmured Clint wryly. I placed my hands on my hips.

“Well, can you fly a helicopter?”

He scoffed as if I had insulted him. “I can fly anything.”

\---

(earlier that morning)

I had just stripped off my suit, hopped in the shower, wrapped up in a towel and then felt a rushing sensation all around me. I sat down on the toilet seat and focused on my breathing. However, it didn’t seem to help anything.

The second I closed my eyes, my thoughts went beyond my conscious control and zoomed far away – into the future.

_The city had become a smoking heap of debris, and the buildings that remained standing in the wreckage seemed to sway anyways, from where I was standing._

_The team was disappointed. I couldn’t make out faces or expressions, but things were going south. I had this sinking feeling, while I didn’t sense any giving up, I knew something had to be done._

_I saw Thanos’ gauntlet. Every open slot on the golden glove was filled with a different colored Stone. He had gotten all of them. He smirked, and there was a beat._

_Then he snapped his fingers._

Snap.

_Silence rung out around me, and that was the most deafening thing of all._

My eyes opened wide and I was left with the sound of someone screaming in my ears. I breathed heavily, like I had just run three miles without stopping, and my abs began to hurt from the strain. I rubbed my face and concentrated on my surroundings rather than what I had just seen. But telling myself it wasn’t real wouldn’t exactly work here.

A large chunk of me was dying to run out there yelling that I had seen the future and that Thanos was going to—

But I couldn’t. I had to internalize it. It was my burden to bear. Besides, it was common knowledge that we couldn’t let him get all the Stones. It would be stupid and reckless to get everyone else so much more worried about what happened if he did.

I breathed in and out of my nose but it was shaky and unstable. I had to calm down. This was my moment, when I would decide to be brave, when I would set aside my feelings for the good of everyone else.

For some reason, though, I never thought it would be this hard.

\---

I slung my freshly packed backpack over my shoulder after examining its contents. It smelled like clean laundry, because Laura had washed my extra outfit for me, and also added some granola bars, because I didn’t know how to prepare for these types of things and figured I would be like the soccer mom that had everything in her bag. Yet it wasn’t a humorous thing at all, because stuffed down inside the backpack was the phone Tony had given me to call Steve, which always weighed on my mind. And beneath that, shoved even further down, was a fully loaded gun and a knife. The knowledge that I was carrying deadly weapons in my bag was definitely freaking me out.

Clint blatantly refused to let me on the helicopter until I had given him my word that I was prepared for this. Maybe my mental state was a factor in it, but he mainly questioned me about how I had applied his training.

“Clint, I promise you I’ve been working out. Peter and I practice fighting every now and then. I think I’ve been getting a lot stronger. I got a gym membership, too, I swear.”

He made a thoughtful, dubious expression at me. “I can attest to that,” Peter added happily. Clint seemed just about to respond when something interrupted him.

“Where are you guys going?” a smaller voice demanded. Laura appeared behind her daughter with Nathaniel hugging her leg and an apologetic look on her face.

Clint angled his eyes down guiltily, and no one wanted to say anything, so no matter how much I didn’t feel like saying goodbye to Lila, I knew I had to. And this time I was taking her father with me into harm’s way. How was I going to explain this one?

“Lila, it’s gonna be okay. We have to go help… our friends. I wish we didn’t have to, but… we kinda do. We’ll be back before… before you know it.”

Her face did not seem any more relieved after this, and instead she appeared to be even more upset. I knew that Lila always understood much more than anyone thought she did, regardless of how I tried to keep the details out of it and as simplistic as possible. She knew what we were going to do.

“You can’t go away again, Daddy!”

With that the girl rushed to grab her father, smashing her face into his torso. He quickly comforted her, pulling back and squatting to get down to her level and whisper something softly in her ear.

I had to clear my throat uncomfortably and look away. It was all too much. Now I knew why Clint had chosen to stay with his family rather than to continue the missions – they were all clearly traumatized by his leaving and going back to the danger. He’d already fought so much in the past, and the realization struck me without holding back.

Maybe _he_ was the one who should be having second thoughts about this.

Soon the three of us were loaded up in the chopper and waving at the family left behind on the lawn. Laura mouthed “be safe” to her husband as he fired up the vehicle, nodding. I supposed that it was for the better that we couldn’t answer or therefore make any empty promises.

The loud sound of the propellers zooming around above us was enough to eliminate any other sounds and make it hard for me to think. Sure, sleeping was out of the question, but I was glad that I couldn’t hear my own thoughts, at the same time. Clint steered the helicopter like he was an old pro, and rightfully so, while Peter and I sat in silence, just being with each other. After a while of merely watching, I lay my head down on his shoulder and tried to savor what was sure to be the last calm moment for a long time.

\---

After what felt like hours of flying over the same land and cities, the scenery changed at last, all at once, and somehow I knew we were in New York. I guessed it had a certain vibe, like people running between coffee shops and concrete. One glance at Peter told me that he felt it too. I wished, now that it had been such a long time without talking, that I could say something to him, anything, but nothing came to mind and he wouldn’t hear me anyway.

All of a sudden he went rigid and stared out of the left side of the helicopter. I squinted and pushed a flying piece of my hair that was pulled back out of my face.

“What?”

“Hey, are you guys seeing this?” I furrowed my brow and looked where Clint was pointing, finally noticing what they were talking about, and then I understood why Peter’s senses had been set off.

A giant flying object was descending over New York, shaped like a hollow circle and running like an engine. It was clearly making a massive disturbance in the air and the machinery on the inside seemed to churn and spin.

“What… the _heck_?”

“I guess this is the ship…” Clint said, before looking back at us. “I’m landing at the tower. Ten minutes, tops.”

We nodded simultaneously and the mood instantaneously switched from dread to urgency. My heart was already racing, but I was used to that by now. There was no more putting off the thought of the seriousness of this, yet at the same time I just felt numb. Like there were so many feelings that I couldn’t process even one of them.

Just as Clint said, we were touching down on the helicopter pad that was on top of Avengers Tower, right in the middle of New York and coincidentally, all the action. The large ship still loomed in the distance, inching closer to the ground by the second.

I got out of the helicopter, inhaled and straightened my back. This was happening. Everyone had their game faces on now and there was no more time to be scared. Clint scanned the layout and Peter stepped close to the edge of the roof.

“Okay. …Okay. I can get there in maybe two minutes. It’s not far.”

Spider-Man clicked his helmet on before looking back at the archer regretfully. “Sorry, I can only carry one at a time without being really slowed down.”

“I get it, she’s lighter than I am. It’s a good thing I haven’t been slacking on my morning runs lately. It’s fine, you two go ahead,” he mumbled, turning and heading for the stairs down into the tower. “Don’t worry, I’ll get there eventually. You’re welcome for flying you here, by the way. Not even a thank you…”


	16. Chapter 16

Before I could breathe, Peter and I were falling through the air. I wished I could say I had gotten used to it by now, but I really hadn’t. Flying was something that always caught me off guard, and while I felt relatively safe, I clenched my eyes tightly closed and tried to gain control of the contents of my stomach.

Somehow, in the middle of it all, I managed to realize something. That while Clint had to take the elevator down like forty-seven floors and then run across the city to catch up with us, we had jumped off a building, something which only one other guy in history had done before. That’s right. Tony Stark. Except he had his suit with him at the time, and we had nothing that could fly us around like that. But Peter’s new iron spider-suit was pretty intuitive and made it easier for him to propel us for such long distances. It had better aerodynamics and reduced the resistance from my weight. I felt remorseful that we had left Clint to himself, knowing that we were on our own.

Yeah… it would have been a more humorous thought if I hadn’t been wishing so hard to be in that elevator with him.

Soon we landed, and my eyes were wide with the knowledge that this was it. I took a breath and scanned my surroundings as civilians ran past me, screaming in fear for their lives. I locked eyes with the glowing blue slots on the mask of Peter’s suit, and he nodded at me once. With that simple gesture I knew it was time to put my game-face on. I had to block everything else out and focus on what needed to be done.

Except that I didn’t know what that was.

“Let me check this out and I’ll let you know what to do. Be right back.”

I was left to myself within a _thwip_ , trying to avoid a panic attack. I didn’t know what to do. The world continued on spinning without my input for the time being. It was like everything was rushing past me without a care. I wanted to close my ears to all the noise, but I couldn’t. I had to be brave.

I analyzed the circular ship ahead of me, maybe about six football fields away, which didn’t seem very far in relation to its massive size. The crazy wind had finally stopped, but the glowing machinery within the circle had not. I could make out objects flying through the air around it, ones that I knew had to be Tony and Peter and Strange… but there were some new figures that were obviously the aliens. It proved difficult to study them in the middle of the action.

Suddenly someone ran up from behind me and just about scared the crap out of me.

“Sami! What are you doing here?”

I was met my Bruce’s scrutinizing, nervous gaze. I only wavered for a second.

“I, uh, I’m helping.” I held up my gun and showed him with an expression that must’ve seemed like I thought it would solve all my problems, which I certainly did not. I deflected the topic off of me as quickly as I could. “What are _you_ doing?”

“I’m helping, too.”

He seemed nervous, though, as he looked around and wrung his hands. I hummed.

“Is there anything I can… do for you?” I was admittedly sheepish because he was Banner, and this situation obviously called for the Hulk. The green one had yet to make an appearance, and he was just casually standing beside me. I would have been crazy to not see a problem there.

“Nah, I’m good. I just need to…”

All of a sudden his entire body tensed up, and he growled with determination and strain, like using his strength to somehow push the Hulk out. I watched him concernedly, as nothing about this situation seemed right. I didn’t think that was how it worked, at all.

“Doesn’t Hulk just… come?”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “He’s being pretty stubborn today. Come on, Hulk. This is your chance. We gotta help and you gotta _work_ with me here—”

He strained again, so hard that I could barely watch, and several of the veins in his neck began to bulge and turn green, but nothing happened. I was just about to intervene and tell him to stop when his eyes widened. Before I could react, something slammed into the back of me and I hit the ground, hard.

I turned to look at what had knocked the wind out of me, as I wasn’t hurt, only to see a strange spear thingy pointing down my throat. It shone and hummed with otherworldly energy. A bluish-gray woman glared down at me fiercely. Her eyes had a weird golden tint and black, horn-ish structures stemmed from her temples. She also wore wicked looking armor and seemed very capable of killing me.

“Is this you? The one Thanos has sought after? This cowering, witless child? I’ll deliver you to him myself.”

All I could do was cower, as the creepy blue alien had said, while she reared back to strike me, presumably to knock me out or worse. I was powerless to stop it and didn’t even try my gun for fear of angering her. That’s the only thing bullets usually did in these kinds of situations.

“Sami!” Bruce called out, tone a mix of distressed and angry that he wasn’t able to help me. I closed my eyes because I couldn’t watch what she was about to do.

“Back off, lady!”

When I opened my eyes again, gasping for my breath back, the woman was yanked backwards and jerked quickly off of me with two dead giveaways as to who had come to my rescue: webs shooting through the air and the sound of blasters firing up.

I tried to get ahold of myself, enough to stand, but it took me a minute to come back from that. Finally, I got to my feet and watched Peter and Tony put down on her. My entire body was tense, and I couldn’t speak until the woman lay on the ground, unmoving.

“Tony, did you hear that…?”

“Not good,” he replied without hesitating. “We’ll hold her off.” His iron helmet turned to scan Bruce and me. “You know what, good team-up. Act like civilians. And get them out of here.”

“Uhh, Mr. Stark?”

All of our attention was turned to where Peter and Tony were looking, and I saw that a limp, cloaked figure was being pulled up in a beam of light, right into the bottom of the doughnut ship.

“That’s the wizard, kid. Get on it!”

“Right!”

Just like that, Peter swung off, and Iron Man left at his heels, sights set on the larger alien that had started to come toward us. I turned back and looked at Bruce incredulously, who just shrugged.

“We’re on civilian duty, I guess?”

\---

I didn’t exactly feel like I was helping much as I shooed the screaming people calmly out of the area, with the scientist at my side, while the other three were zooming around fighting the bad guys, but it wasn’t my fault that I was being forced to wear this suit. It should have felt like a safety net, that I couldn’t get myself into trouble, but the problem was that I _could_ and was still unable to fight back.

Suddenly I felt my stomach drop unexplainably, as the winds picked up, and I spun on my heels to look at the huge ship. I was a few blocks down from the fight, now, working with Bruce to make sure everyone was evacuating, but it all seemed to be of no use. Because the donut was rising higher into the sky by the second.

So I took off, sprinting down the street to get a clearer view of the ship and the fight that had begun to carry over into Central Park. I passed buildings in a mad flurry of running. Bruce may have called after me, but I ignored him if he did.

The ship was rising at untold speeds by now, since it was very high up and gaining height by the second. I hurriedly scanned the sky, the streets, everywhere, for the three heroes. I couldn’t believe it. They were nowhere to be found, and the aliens were gone, too.

Oh, my gosh, no. They couldn’t be…

Before long, my suspicions were confirmed without a doubt. I narrowed my eyes, struggling to make out a tiny figure hanging on to the inside machinery of the ship for dear life. It was almost definitely Peter. My jaw dropped when I realized that Tony was shooting off after him at full speed.

It had to be Peter on that ship. I watched in hopes that he would get him down from there and back to us, but it didn’t look good.

I swallowed, longing to see him coming back down to earth, but there was no sign of that. All I could do was watch disbelievingly as the two people who perhaps mattered most to me in this world rose up into the atmosphere and out my view.

I was breathing heavily with desperation and exertion when I finally made it back to Bruce, who braced me with his arms, looking alarmed.

“What? What happened?” I inhaled.

“Tony and Peter are… are gone, I think they went after Strange. They were on the ship…”

“You mean, they went to _space_?”

He must have seen how wracked with worry I was, and figured he wasn’t helping, so he cleared his throat and continued. “I’m sure they’ll find a way back.”

I shook my head and stuttered. “I—I don’t know what to do…. why did we even come here?”

Bruce’s gaze and tone were steady. “You know why you came here.” I sighed and nodded, knowing that he was right. His words gave me a bit of stability.

“Hey, what did I miss?”

Just then Clint jogged up to us, eyeing me and looking both out of breath and concerned. I bit my lip and tried not break down. I turned around and avoided both of their piercing eyes. I had to get it together, and fast. I wracked my brain for some kind of answer. My mind sifted through the contents of my bag, and then I remembered what was sitting in the outside pocket, waiting to be used.

“So I think this is the moment I’ve been waiting for,” I declared with hopelessness seeping through my voice, finally facing Clint and Bruce who were in the middle of discussing things. “Can you both be my backup for a second?”

I was, to say the least, very nervous to call Steve, partly because I didn’t know how to go about it, and partly because so much was riding on this. Everyone seemed to depend on me to make this call, but it didn’t feel right. I was supposed to depend on everybody else, here.

I lifted the phone out of my bag and flipped it open. The one number that was saved struck me when I clicked the contacts. Steve Rogers. Without letting myself think too hard about it, I hit the dial button and held the phone up to my ear.

It rang several times and dread sank into my gut at the thought of him not answering. If that happened, I’d be truly hopeless. But on one of the last rings, I heard it finally cut over. It was a moment before he spoke – not too long, yet it was just enough for me to notice his hesitation.

“Tony.”

“Uh, actually, it’s Sami. Hey, Steve.”

I could see the lines on his face deepening from his furrowed brow. “Sami? What happened? Did something happen?”

I exhaled shakily. “Yeah, yeah… uh, well there were aliens in New York. They brought a ship here and there was a huge fight… but now the ship is gone and it took Peter and Tony with it. I don’t know what to do, I’m sure they’re coming back and I don’t know what happened to them—”

“Who else is there with you? Any of the team?”

“I have… Bruce and Clint with me. Thor’s out there somewhere, we think, and half of Asgard is at the facility.” I didn’t know why I’d just told him all of that. I could have just left it at who was with me, but it seemed important in my mind before it came out of my mouth, and only went to prove how little help I really had. No offense to the two Avengers I had with me, but one of them had just _jogged_ here and the other was just a scientist for the time being, unless he could figure this out.

“Well, just stay where you are. We’re on our way.”

I closed my eyes for a second. “Steve… I called you because Tony said it was my responsibility if things got too rough here. And this is Thanos. So we need all the help we can get.”

“Right. Thanks for calling me, Sami. We’ll be there as soon as possible and do everything we can to help. Call me if anything changes. But for now, just hang in there.”

I held my breath as I agreed and hung up the call. I looked up to see two pairs of expectant eyes.

“Well?”

It was a breath of fresh air to let the words leave my mouth. “Steve’s on his way.”

\---

(a month ago)

I was lying on the carpet with my stomach down and my feet kicking in the air, watching Ashton’s every move. He was simply sitting upright, sucking on his entire hand. But I was pretty invested, anyway. Peter, however, was watching him with more of a confounded expression.

Tony had his arm around Pepper and they were heading toward the door, looking pretty pleased.

“Okay, diapers are in the bag, you should have plenty, and if he gets fussy just grab his binky or the rattle! And if you need—”

“Relax, Pep. This isn’t their first rodeo. They’ll figure it out; it’s only for a few hours, anyway.”

“We’ll tag team it,” I assured both of them, smiling. “You two go have fun and don’t worry about us!”

“Man, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been, like, just _out_.” Peter and I wore matching grins, hearing this statement from Tony as they opened the door.

“We’ll hold down the fort,” my boyfriend told them. I nodded.

“Maybe when you get back we’ll get pizza.”

Once the door closed and the bustle died down, Peter immediately turned to meet my eyes and I held my closed fist toward him. He bumped it and then blew it up.

“It’s go-time.”

Just like that we got up, placed Ashton in a highchair, and got to work. It was all a ruse, of course. Tony and Pepper were off to have a quiet evening alone. I didn’t know exactly where they were going, but it was their anniversary and they deserved some quiet time to themselves. They also deserved a nice meal tonight that _wasn’t_ pizza or centered around the baby.

I might’ve have misled them with the food suggestion, but I wasn’t lying when I said we’d tag-team it. As I vacuumed and prepared the baking materials, Peter spoon-fed Ashton and entertained him. And as he set the table, I rushed to change a diaper and calm a fussy baby. In the end, Peter was holding Ashton, happily sucking on his pacifier, while I cooked away at the meal.

“I told them not to rush, but how long do you think we have?” I asked, checking the clock as I went. Peter shuffled his feet, thinking about as he bounced the child. Suddenly his eyes widened, a second before the elevator beeped.

“Oh shoot!”

I rushed back to the stove to hurry things up, but I was interrupted when a baby was shoved into my arms.

“Just hold him for a second, I have to distract them!” Peter dashed off without awaiting my answer, and soon I heard a soft, nervous “Hey, guys” from the living room behind me. The lights were dimmed and I poked my head around the corner to see him chauffeuring them to the candle-lit dining table. There were murmurs of confusion and pleasant surprise, and I knew I also had to make my appearance.

The first thing I saw was Tony’s perplexed face. “Sami, I’m disappointed in you. Did you… actually _lie_ to us? Either that or we’re having really fancy pizza tonight.”

I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t lie, I just made a suggestion. That’s different.”

“Of course, that’s how they all start out.”

I ignored his comment made under his breath and looked at Pepper brightly. “Dinner will be up, soon.”

“What is this about?” she asked cheekily. I smirked coyly.

“I just wanted to make sure you guys have a relaxing anniversary. Also, I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. You might have to wait a while before dinner.”

“Well, there’s only so many times we can stop at the same food truck on our walk in Central Park,” Tony muttered. Suddenly something began beeping loudly in the kitchen and Ashton started reaching out for his mother.

“Dang it! The rolls are burning!”

Peter was instantly at my side, to grab the baby out of my arms, as we had previously agreed that we wouldn’t let either parent hold their kid until after dinner. I finally salvaged what was left of the buttery rolls just in time for three people to begin calling out for me.

“Sami! Come here!”

I raced back to the dining room with an inquisitive expression to find Peter, Pepper, and Tony all gawking at Ashton, who sat against my boyfriend’s hip looking pleased with himself. Peter turned to face me.

“He just said his first word.”

“ _What_?”

Pepper ignored this, reaching out her hands for her son. “You have to let me hold my kid, now, it’s the rules. When he says “mama”, I technically have to give him all of the attention in the world.”

Peter’s eyes were quickly on me for confirmation. “He said “mama”? That’s amazing!” I studied the baby, who appeared to grow more upset every second he was not returned to his mother and sighed.

“Whatever. Let her hold him. This night is already going exactly like I planned.” I narrowed my eyes at Ashton playfully. “Traitor.”

“I think this night is going great,” Tony spoke up loudly to proclaim. “My son is already a genius, what is this, his first word at five months? I’m telling you. He’ll be smarter than all of us, right here.”

I smiled and bit my lip when he shooed me away with his hand, a signal to give them a moment to praise Ashton alone and for me to get back to work.

Only much later, after the meal, as I stood staring at the pile of dirty dishes with dread in my throat, did Pepper come into the kitchen to talk to me.

“You know this is all because of you, right?”

I furrowed my brow once I turned and saw her behind me. “Um, sorry, what?”

“All this. Ashton. Peter. Having family time together. Not being alone all the time. Heck, probably even marrying me. It’s because of you.”

I opened my mouth but hesitated to come out with it. “So, we’re talking about Tony here… but what did I do, again?”

Pepper chuckled and came further into the kitchen. “It’s just that three years ago, he would have never dreamed of doing this. And now look at him. He didn’t even say anything negative about you guys’ totally predictable surprise.”

“Hey!” I complained, but she simply motioned for me to peer out of the room and into the living space, where Tony stood beside Peter, just chatting it up with Ashton resting gently on his hip. Just then he put his arm around the teenager and patted his shoulder, before meeting his eyes. I blinked and looked at Pepper blankly. Seeing it made me happy but I wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Is this a… good thing? Or a bad thing?”

She scoffed. “Oh, I definitely like this Tony much better. He’s still very much the same, I guess, but before you, we hardly talked and I never knew what was going on with him or how to help. Now that you two are in college, it seems like the only thing that goes on in his mind is worrying about you and Ashton. It’s… nice. An unexpected kind of end to this story.”

I smiled softly and shifted my eyes around. I tried to think of an acceptable reply but Pepper wasn’t done.

“It’s because of you. Because he adopted you. If you hadn’t been who you are, warming him up to… to having relationships and being there, then our life wouldn’t be what it is now. Sure, he has his problems, but we have Ashton now. And who would have ever guessed we’d be here, on our wedding anniversary, having a surprise dinner from you and Peter and freaking over our baby saying his first word?”

I pursed my lips humorously and agreed. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s pretty crazy. Well, um, I’m glad I could help out. I think it’s worked out pretty okay, too.”

Pepper smiled at me pleasantly and we both proceeded to join the boys outside in the living room, leaving the dishes for later so that I could focus on what mattered.

\---

I thought about calling Pepper, I really did. But I didn’t know if I could do it. The news was eating at me, myself, so how could I explain to her what had happened? That was two-fifths of our little makeshift family missing in outer space. I kept telling myself that maybe they’d be back soon, that maybe Tony could tell her he was okay himself…

I couldn’t think about what they were doing. All I could do was hope they come back soon enough and figure what my own course of action was, because sitting around worrying wouldn’t help anyone.

Bruce, Clint and I made our way back to the facility, to go over our limited options since there was nothing left to take care of in the partially destroyed, evacuated downtown streets where we stood.

“So what’s our plan?” Clint asked, leaning against the door frame as we talked in one of the conference rooms of the tower. I crossed my arms.

“How are we supposed to come up with one right now?”

“We can’t just wait around for—”

“For what? For Thanos to come back? Or for Tony and Peter to magically arrive back here?”

“Um, both. We have to do something, in case both of those things happen, or _neither_ of them do.”

“Okay, what, then? Because I’m stuck, Clint.”

“I just—”

“Hey, what happened?” Rhodey strode into the room, with mechanisms designed by Tony strapped onto his legs and allowing him to walk. “I came as soon as I heard. There was a ship?”

Bruce nodded and jumped into the discussion. “Full of aliens who came to attack New York in search of the… the Stones. They were after Doctor Strange, a… wizard who protects the Time Stone. Long story short, they attacked us, and our main defense was taken away with them.”

Rhodey’s eyebrows shot into the air. “Taken away? Tony’s gone, to space?”

He looked at me, for some strange reason, seeking confirmation. I nodded.

“And Strange, and Peter.”

“Peter?”

“Yeah, red spandex, Spider-Man…”

A few beats passed featuring his confused look until Clint cleared his throat, impatient with the semantics. “He was the kid on your side at the Tarmac.”

“Oh. Hey Clint, what’s up?”

“Not much. Been a long time.”

The two men stood upright and promptly shook hands. I took note of this but I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts to appreciate it much. Rhodey jumped right back into the discussion.

“So what? Is there any way to track them?”

Bruce shook his head. “Mm-mm. They have trackers in their suits, but they’ve been disconnected, of course. Their reach isn’t quite that far. And even if we did know where they were it'd still be useless since there's no way to reach them.”

“Then we have no leads. There’s no possible way to tell where they are?”

Clint huffed. “They’re in space! They got sucked onto the ship, and it flew out of the atmosphere. We know where they are, which is not here anymore, and there’s no way to get them back from our end. So I suggest we focus on what we _can_ control.”

I piped up, having heard enough. I kept on thinking over it and none of it made any sense. “But is there anything we can control, though? Because we’re missing half the team. The aliens got the jump on us. And it doesn’t seem like there’s much we can do to prepare, right? All we can do is wait for help to get here, and hope it’s fast, or else Thanos will come first and do what he wants with us.”

It took a moment for my claim to be refuted. “But we can’t just do nothing. There’s gotta be a way to be prepared for—”

“This is Thanos,” I whispered, looking around at the men. “We know he already has the Tesseract, and is collecting more Stones, so who knows how powerful he’ll be when he comes for us?”

I was breathing heavily after saying this, fighting back the pulsing of stress in my brain, thinking over the truth of what I’d said. We were in no position to battle anything, much less this. I mean, Bruce couldn’t turn into the Hulk, Clint was armed with a bow and arrow, Rhodey struggled to walk properly without his iron suit, and I was wearing a stupid power-cancelling outfit! The odds definitely weren’t in our favor.

All of a sudden, Bruce shuffled out of the room, muttering under his breath. I grimaced. Maybe my explanation had been too harsh, but I couldn’t help how I was feeling.

Clint wasn’t just going to take it sitting down. “Fine, you can pout all you want, but we’re going to come up with a plan whether you like it or not. Because I’m not just going to sit around and let whatever happens happen to us. There comes a time when you suck it up, no matter what bad happened, to fight for the good that’s left.”

I stopped. My entire thought process halted in its tracks, with brakes screeching. I met Clint’s eyes, his tired, determined, angry blue eyes. I feel ashamed of my initial response, and sent him a slight nod, giving in. He was right. I couldn’t bring the mood down so much just because Tony and Peter weren’t here. We had to find something to do, and the reason was that there _was_ no guarantee of anyone else to help us.

The silent agreement was hanging in the air, as Rhodey just stood quietly to the side, and no one dared speak for a while. And then our last chance to change the subject was taken away.

“Wanda Maximoff has entered the building,” FRIDAY announced to us out of the blue. “She is in the elevator on her way to this floor. She seems distressed.”

Clint and Rhodey were both immediately stirred to action. Before long, Wanda burst into our room, looking at a loss, complete with tear-stained cheeks and a devastated expression.

“Thanos took Vision,” she sobbed. “He took him, he took him… I didn’t know who else to come to…”

My throat dropped down into my stomach. The two Avengers rushed to console Wanda on to the couch and calm her down enough to speak, while I was left to stand there in shock. My original point was being further proved, though. We had just been waiting, because there was nothing for us to do, and Thanos getting Vision was something we couldn’t help, now. And if he had Vision, then he had one more Stone.

My eyes began to swim with tears, watching Wanda speak about her guilt over not being able to save Vision. My heart was broken and I didn’t think I could take any more of this.

I knew one thing, and that this was a completely different beast than any movie I’d watched before, and I had no precedence for it.

\---

About an hour later, Wanda was getting cleaned up, Clint was downstairs consulting with Valkyrie over a video call, the woman that Thor left in charge of the remaining Asgardians, to see what she knew, and Rhodey and I were watching monitors to see if anything changed.

“So, uh, what’s with the suit?” he finally got around to asking. “Tony made it for you?” I heaved a deep breath.

“Yeah. It’s, um, to help with my… I have this power. It’s kinda strong and I don’t really know how to control it. Yeah, don’t ask. I don’t know anything else, really.”

Rhodey was incredulous. “You’ve had a secret power all along? And you’ve been holding out on us?”

I frowned. “It’s not holding out on you if it was _also_ a secret from me for a long time. I also wouldn’t be much help, since I have no idea what I can even do with it.”

He scoffed. “Gee, Sami. That’s crazy. I thought you were supposed to be the normal one. You balanced our weirdness out.”

I smirked. If I had a nickel for all the times I’d heard that one before…

“It a good look for you, anyway. Kinda futuristic. Like you could kick some serious butt.”

I pouted. “I wish I could. Then maybe I could actually be of some help.”

Rhodey seemed to want to retort when all of a sudden the monitor began beeping. A warning. A red dot appeared on the spherical hologram of New York City, near the skyline.

“FRIDAY, what do we got?”

“An unidentified aircraft has entered the atmosphere just over Manhattan, sir,” the AI replied dutifully. “It has the same energy reading as the one that was here earlier. But this time it’s approaching at a much higher speed and it isn’t reduced, it will collide with the ground in… under seven minutes.”

My eyes shot up to look at the colonel, matching his immediate concern.

“They’re crash-landing?”

“Yes. Various systems seem to be failing at a rapid rate.”

“Scan for any heat signatures and update me if anything changes.”

“Yes, sir.”

I grabbed his arm as he turned to leave the room. “I’m coming with you. I don’t care if I have to fly on your back to get there in time, but I’m not staying here anymore. I have to go back out there. And if that’s them coming back…”

“Sami, we have no ground defenses to fight this. All we’d be doing is bracing ourselves for them to hit.”

“And then we’ll make sure they get out,” I said, sure there was fire in my eyes. Rhodey still looked reluctant. “Right? That’s what _you’re_ going to do. So take me with you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” Before he eyes, he began suiting up with armor that flew to him automatically, stretching over him piece by piece. I circled to his back, perfectly prepared to grip on to him as he soared out to the city, when I noticed handles and two footrests that appeared on his back. I hesitated.

“These are for…?”

“Yeah, just hang on.”

I quickly found my place, grabbing both handles and sticking my feet on the rests, bracing myself. The metal wrapped around the tips of my feet, locking them in place securely. Rhodey took a few steps toward a nearby window and proceeded to jump out of it.

If I hadn’t been freefalling on the back of the suit, I would have scowled and complained that this had happened twice in the same day. Why did I like surrounding myself with heroes who loved to jump out of buildings?

We didn’t fall for quite as long this time before Rhodey’s engines cut on and we took off in the direction of the donut ship. I peeled back my flapping eyelids to get a glimpse of it descending over Manhattan, and it seemed to be falling in slow motion, but I knew that was just because it was so far away. It was much closer to the ground than it had been a few minutes ago and the bottom was on fire from the resistance. I winced. I had hoped that Tony and Peter were on board, but if they were… it really didn’t look good.

“Tony, are you there? Come in Tony. We see the ship. Are you on board? Do you copy?” I heard Rhodey trying to contact the comms in Tony’s suit, and immediately longed for a response. The static rang out in our silent waiting at first, and then there was a voice straining through the noise.

“Yeah, I copy, Rhodes. We were trying to make it back in one piece but it’s not exactly working out.”

“Oh, we can tell. Do I need to do anything?”

“Strange here is shielding the front to lessen the impact. We’re aiming for Central Park. You can clear the area, that would be great.”

It was a _duh_ moment for Rhodey, I could tell. “Right. Sure. And, uh, you can really land that thing?”

“Trying my best.”

He didn’t waste any time in flying over toward Central Park, but instead of going straight there, he dropped me off about a mile back. I puffed up indignantly.

“But…!”

“Nope. I don’t wanna hear it. Given how little control of this there is, you’re not coming anywhere near it. You can come find them once they land, but _not_ any sooner. Tony would kill me. Stay put, Sami.”

I pouted again as he took off and left me to myself without another word. I crossed my arms, and figured he was right. I literally had no protection, and if this ship was crashing, I could have easily gotten hurt if I was any closer. But I still didn’t like it.

I turned my eyes up to the sky, and a chill traveled down my spine when I saw that the ring-shaped ship was so close, now. I knew we had just minutes before they’d hit. I closed my eyes and wished for everything to be okay. I just wanted this to not be happening, for Tony and Peter to be back on Earth with no trouble, and for us just to go home. But when did I ever get what I wanted?

My eyes were instantly glued to the alien ship, as it descended steadily over the city. I guessed it would be less than a minute before it could scrape the tops of buildings. I made out the glowing orange protection spell that was indicative of Doctor Strange’s magic surrounding a central hub close to the bottom of the ship. If that’s where they were, at the controls, then it was a good thing they had the extra defense, because that’s also the section aimed to smash into skyscrapers.

It was like watching the world descend into chaos in slow motion, powerless, even though I honestly knew it wasn’t that bad. It couldn’t be. Somehow I got lost in thought and then was suddenly shaken out of it, when a huge crashing sound caught me off guard. I looked up in a split second just to see pieces of a nearby building falling to the streets below after being struck by the ship that was going haywire. It caught fire and many fragments of the architecture sprinkled to the ground.

The screaming of frantic people rushing past me intensified as the ship finally narrowed in on Central Park. I couldn’t make it out its exact target, which is why I started running.

My feet and my head were separate entities for the time being, while I scanned the area and plotted my course desperately, watching the ringed aircraft approach the Earth rapidly, and my legs were just the mechanism to propel me there mindlessly.

The sensation that time slowed down would have been stronger if I hadn’t been sprinting into Central Park, dodging bikes, pedestrians, and cars alike, all leaving the area. A policeman grabbed me by the arm, clearly alarmed that I was running in the opposite direction of everyone else – toward the danger and not away from it.

“Hey, we’re not allowing anyone in there, we’re evacuating!” he told me forcefully. I jerked away from him in desperation.

“My family’s on the ship, I have to get to them!”

To my surprise, the man let my arm go at the sound of my non-hesitant response, and I nodded at him, guessing that he knew there was no use in trying to convince me otherwise. Besides, it wasn’t like there was a line of people following me. And I had to have seen what I was running into, right? Yeah, I wasn’t so sure.

Central Park was a really big place, so I was glad to have some sort of target. Every few seconds I looked up to watch the direction that the ship was heading in as it smoked and sparked terrifyingly. Before I knew it, it was a nanosecond away from hitting the ground, and I didn’t have enough time to process the fact that there would be any effects on my part.

Well, there was.

The impact rocked the ground where I stood and I was caught in so much momentum that it knocked me completely off my feet. The shockwave spread out in a split-second radius and I hit the concrete with such force that I was lucky to not have been knocked out by it, just dazed. My entire body ached, and my ears rang, but I forced myself to stir. I blinked a few times before I was finally able to shake myself out of it. I stood, slowly, and looked around to get my bearing back.

I seemed to be standing in a different world.

It was still Central Park, but now alien debris littered the place, having covered a wide area from the crash, and much of it was on flaming. Obviously, I was back on my feet quickly after noticing this and dashing right to the heart of the wreckage.

“ _Tony!_ ” I called out, my voice cracking with desperation. “ _Peter!_ _Tony!_ ”

I scanned the burning hunks of metal and other unidentifiable materials for any sign of life, but there was none to be found. I held my breath, coughing through the smoke that thickened around me. I seemed to be spinning in pointless circles, when a glint of red armor caught my eye.

“Kid, what are you doing here?”

I turned around to see Tony’s iron nanotech suit, which was instantly de-helmeted so he could see me. I choked back a sob as my relief spilled out through tears.

It’d already been a long day.

“Woah, woah, woah, you’d be crushing me right now if I wasn’t in this suit, _gosh_ ,” Tony complained, struggling against my hug. I disapproved of his nonchalant attitude and spoke with great difficulty.

“I thought… I thought you guys were gone, like… like, forever, lost in space, you left me here and—”

“Hey, I’m good, I’m okay,” he assured me, switching to a more understanding tone. “We gotta find Pete.”

We were on the move to find my boyfriend without a second to waste, and I was frantic, although Tony was noticeably calmer. It wasn’t long until we found him because he hadn’t ended up far away from where I saw Tony. Dr. Strange also approached us but stayed back quite a bit.

I rushed to Peter and pulled him to his feet, out of the dust that covered him, and straight into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him so tight, and closed my eyes, feeling him relax a little into me.

“Sami, hey,” he sighed in a light tone, full of exhaustion. I backed up and narrowed my eyes at him. His own helmet disappeared and I analyzed a trickle of blood dripping from his nose. Otherwise, he seemed fine.

“Don’t ever go back to space again,” I warned him, continuing, “… without me.”

He smiled and nodded. “It was a lot less cool this time.” Suddenly everyone started gathering around, including Tony, Rhodey, Strange, and even Clint.

“Barton, how’d you get down here so fast?”

“Found a car.”

He gestured behind him, where a sleek blue sports car was recklessly parked, in the midst of the fiery debris. Tony was definitely the most appalled by this new revelation.

“You stole one of my cars? For this?”

“Yeah, that’s kinda what happens when you can’t fly, or have any other method of getting around besides walking like a normal human being. Now we’re all in the same place, so this is where the planning happens.”

“What happened up there?” Rhodey was getting right to business.

“Well, Squidward was trying to poke the Stone out of him—”

“It was a minor complication,” Strange said over Tony’s words.

“—but thanks to the kid, he is now a freeze-dried prune.” I snorted as a pure knee-jerk reaction. He seemed the smallest bit proud to hear my response. The doctor just rolled his eyes frustratedly.

“How did you guys get back?”

“The most important thing to take away from this situation is that Stark did not _want_ to return,” the sorcerer filled in matter-of-factly. I raised my eyebrows and assumed everyone else that had not been there reacted similarly, but my eyes were locked on Tony in confusion.

“…What?”

“Just at first,” he told us defensively. “Because I didn’t see a reason to take the fight back here. Not with all the civilians. But then I realized that our best bet is to get the best defense possible here, since Earth may be his next target for all we know, and leading him into space is…”

“Crazy,” Rhodey supplied out of disbelief.

“Which is what I happened to convince him of,” Strange made sure we all knew, once again. I almost raised my hand to ask a question but ignored the urge and just went for it.

“Why would he come to Earth next? Aren’t the other Stones, like, elsewhere?”

Tony looked down. “Vision is here. We just have to be ready. We have to find him as soon as—”

“Vision’s already gone. Thanos got to him. We don’t know if he’s taken the Stone, or not, but Wanda is at the Tower. She’s in bad shape.”

After Clint’s statement, the mood of the circle of heroes became more like the flaming wreckage that surrounded us. The heat started getting to me while the relief started to sink further in, being covered by more and more worry.

Instead of going over our options as the topic of discussion shifted, I thought about who we didn’t have, which was a very stupid thing to do for my mental state. We’d already lost Vision, Wanda, and Thor, and the other half of the Avengers were nowhere to be found either. Even though Wanda and Bruce were around, we couldn’t have expected them to contribute much in their current states.

It was a horrible train of thought, but it also wasn’t untrue.

Given this information, I decided to share some of my own news, whether it was positive or not. “Well, I called Steve. He’s trying to get here as soon as possible.”

Tony nodded sharply with his jaw clenched, but his gaze was shifty and wouldn’t lock onto any one spot. I wondered what could have been bothering him. I mean, all of our problems were a lot, but he had even stopped wisecracking. That meant something.

It stuck with me that he had come back. When I thought about Tony’s fighting strategies, he always chose to face everything alone, with as little help as possible, and he, Strange, and Peter were not really an inadequate team to face Thanos. It would likely have been much smarter, more of a _Tony_ thing, to find wherever Thanos was headed and stop him while he was at his weakest, without all of the Stones. And I didn’t believe that Tony decided to come all the way back to Earth just to protect Vision.

He almost definitely came back because of me. I just didn’t know _why_.

“So are we just going to stand around looking at each other or are we going to find something to do?”

Leave it to Clint to ask the real questions. It seemed to shake Strange, Peter, and Tony out of their slight stupor and they all stood up a little straighter, scanning the area. I needed to get out of our small area of wreckage and into a clearing because the burning smell and the smoke was finally starting to get to me. I had been distracted, but now I felt light-headed and longed for fresh air. I rubbed at my damp, grimy face, and noticed that my forehead was bleeding.

All of a sudden, I heard a familiar whooshing sound, which increased in volume within a nanosecond and I jerked around to see a wide circumference of bright light hitting the ground… well, not the ground, but Tony’s fancy car that was to our left. The colorful surge of light retracted and left a muscly figure in its stead.

Now that was the hope we needed right now.

“Thor?” Rhodey was the first to demand before any of us could say anything. Tony’s mouth simply gaped at the sight of the irreparable vehicle and I knew Clint was going to hear about it soon enough.

The man was grasping a wicked-looking axe that sparked with his lightning power.

I found the ability to smile at him as he greeted us. “Why yes, hello again, Avengers! I’ve returned to defeat Thanos. Uh, where might I find him?”


	17. Chapter 17

Our little planning party was hastily moved into a clear area and away from the debris shortly after Thor’s arrival, and I was glad of it. I couldn’t let myself enjoy the scenery, though. Whenever I looked up, I forced my eyes right back down, because the trees around us were either on fire or falling down, and there were crumbling buildings in the distance. I could imagine the news report that was likely going on right now as I heard helicopters flying in. It was insane to think that I wasn’t watching it, and rather was standing in the middle of the damage scene.

And there was a gun in the pocket of my sweatpants. No, everything was fine.

Somehow I blocked out the chatter about a plan, maybe because it was all going over my head, and Peter helped to distract me. I knew deep down it was for the worse, since whenever something happened I’d have missed the planning process and therefore, the… _plan_ , but I didn’t have enough in me to care about it at the moment.

“Hey, guess what?” I wondered why Peter’s face was lit up so brightly, in the middle of all this, and it shook me out of my worried state for a while. If he was excited about something, then I would find my positivity, too. I _had_ to.

“What?” I responded curiously.

“Mr. Stark made me an Avenger,” he told me quickly, half-whispering and half-not. I slapped the metal of his suit, gently, not because of him but because it would have hurt my hand if I’d hit it any harder.

“What? No way! That’s amazing! Like, while you were in space?” Peter shook his head yes. I sighed happily, relieved beyond words for him, because I thought back to the first day when we had been getting to know each other and he had informed me of how badly he wanted to become on Avenger.

_“I… I want to be an Avenger. Not… not like, anytime soon, but eventually. I know, it’s probably dumb to think that but—”_

_“Peter, that is_ not _stupid. It’s completely reasonable to want that.”_

_“Really? You honestly think Tony would ever trust me with that? It’s a lot of responsibility.”_

_“Absolutely.”_

Maybe some dreams were being crushed right now, but his had finally come true, and I wanted to appreciate it with him.

“Kid!” I jerked around to see Tony staring at me demandingly and I shrunk at the suddenness of it.

“What did I do?” I asked.

“You’re here!” he fired back, as if the problem was obvious. Which it was.

“… You’re just now noticing that?”

“I just rolled my eyes at you, by the way. No, I _noticed_ , but I just was thinking about how dangerous this is.”

“You told me I could come!”

“Yeah, before I knew what was going on, and now that I do know, I don’t _want_ you here!” Tony argued, raising the pitch of his voice.

“Well, you’re just gonna have to deal with it, because I’m staying.” I spoke in a quiet voice to let him know I meant business. “Didn’t you hear what that alien woman said? You may think that’s an excuse to hide from this, but I don’t. I’m going to help.”

“But it’s too—”

“Tony, I’m an adult, who knew _exactly_ how dangerous it would be before I even made this decision. Sorry, but you’re not really the best example for me to be following, anyways.”

The words did come out of my mouth, and they were spot on, and yet they still seemed to sting. I winced, trying my best to hide it, as Tony appeared to do. He brushed it off.

“Yeah, whatever, kid. I’m glad to know you’ve really thought this through. Because when it all gets screwed over after I have to use all my attention on you, when I shouldn’t have to, everything’s not just going to be fine. I let you come because I thought you might look at this maturely and let us do our own thing.”

I shrunk down to the size of Scott Lang. Now neither of us could look at each other. But I ignored my usual inclination to argue like an offended teenager and chose to make my intentions clear instead.

“Hey, I just want to help,” I said loudly, but with a soft tone, not with any sort of anger. “I don’t want to be in the way. I’ll do whatever you want. Yeah, I’m staying, but my reason is to help. Not hurt.”

He gave me a few more seconds’ worth of a glance before turning away to think. Then Thor strode up and patted my shoulder with such strength that my legs shook in an effort to remain standing.

“Sami! Don’t get me wrong, I am glad to fight alongside you, but you seem a little… underprepared. You must be provided a weapon.”

I thought back to the gun in my bag, but the idea died in my throat. There was no way I could really use that after all the good it _didn’t_ do so far. Tony just sighed and placed his hand on his hip. I figured he was placing it there to look aggravated but actually, he disconnected a chunk of his armor, which was replaced by the nanotech, and held the piece that had been removed out to me. I squinted at him until it transformed into a sword.

Wait a minute…

“A _sword_?” I demanded. I flipped it over in my hands a few times, studying the shiny red metal weapon that was now mine, apparently.

“Yeah, you happy now?”

“… That’s not exactly the word I would use, no.”

It was a very strange, unquantifiable few moments that passed. My mind wandered, Peter rambled on, and Thor was looking as powerful and put together as ever, though slightly confused, but something caught my eye. Tony had turned away and was looking down at the ground to his side, with his back to me.

“Tony, you alright?” He didn’t show any signs of response, so I approached him and peered around to get his attention. His helmet had disappeared.

“Hey, are you… having a moment?”

“Excuse me, madam?”

I frowned. “Now is not really a great time to be whipping out your Sherlock accent for comedic effect, Tony.”

“What a singular reaction…” he replied thoughtfully, never giving up the façade, game, whatever it was. I squinted at him, not playfully. “I must admit I didn’t anticipate that odd statement.”

“Cut this out right now or you’ll start scaring me.” My tone was dead serious.

“While in general my last intention would be to frighten a stranger, I cannot stop something if I’m not aware that I am doing it.” Tony scanned our surroundings sharply, with hints of perplexity. As if he was just seeing it for the first time.

“Has there been an attack of some sort?” I had never so badly wanted to slap him in my life, to get him to _stop_ freaking me out. And then he blinked all of a sudden and shook his head slightly like he had to clear it. My curiosity peaked when he asked, “Uh, were you saying something?” in his normal voice, blinking at me strangely.

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember anything that just happened,” I warned, relief being the furthest thing from what I was feeling. “Be honest with me _right now_.”

“Last thing I remember is giving you a sword.”

I sighed as my eyes darted around, like I could find the answers somewhere. Finally, I explained, “Apparently, you just turned into Sherlock Holmes, the one who looks like you. Only for a minute, until you just now came back. And if you seriously don’t remember doing it…”

The only emotion Tony let on was mild disappointment. “You know, part of me is upset at how weird that is, but then you remind me that you’re from another _universe_.”

\---

I peeked out of the small blanket fort I’d made for Ashton to see Tony standing above us, with gray hair more noticeable than ever. I knew that fatherhood was wearing on him – but that wasn’t the right word, because it was definitely not a bad thing. I liked this new look for him.

“Hey, I’m going to have to ask you to leave before you start thinking you can move back in and become a bum. I don’t wanna have to disappoint you.”

I rose and crossed my arms. “You’re welcome for watching Ashton for you, by the way. I’m going to find Peter because I know he’ll at least be nice to me.”

“Great. Whatever. You really should be studying for finals, anyway.”

I gaped my mouth at him in offended disbelief. “Excuse me, I _have_ been. All week. And I’m really stressed about passing chemistry, so much that I’ve kinda accepted failing it.”

“Well, it’d be good if you raised your standards a bit, because if you fail this year for not trying hard enough, I’m _not_ paying for it again.”

His harsh words lacked any sense of teasing, so I stepped back and turned away, slipping my purse over my shoulder. He knew I tried hard, so why was he saying this?

“Okay, yeah, I’ll get going. Bye—”

“Wait, wait, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s fine,” I interjected, locking eyes with him before turning around once more. “I don’t blame you.” I could only hear my shuffling feet in the direction of the door when he cut me off.

“You’re the future, kid.”

This caught my attention. I spared a glance behind me. “Ummm…?”

Tony placed a hand over his eyes wearily. “It’s just that I’ve had that on my mind a lot lately and, I guess like any parent would, I want to see you succeed. Why I push Peter to be better than me. And why I’ll absolutely be the same way to Ashton. Because – I won’t be here forever.”

“Don’t say that,” I warned softly. “You know how I feel about that.” He shrugged.

“It’s true. And it’s not like I want anything to happen. I just know that my position now is to be a mentor. To the new generation who’ll be taking over the Avengers after us. Not just that, but the whole world. I’d like to leave it in a better place than when I found it.”

I inhaled steadily and at last, I nodded at him. Now I could see his thought process. “Alright. I get you. And I’ll keep that in mind, but you didn’t have to get so philosophical on me. I don’t really think my chemistry exam is gonna matter that much in the end.”

“Oh, don’t be so sure.”

\---

Rhodey was keeping us updated on the statuses of other help because we absolutely needed it. Evidently reinforcements from Wakanda were on their way, and we were still waiting on any sort of word from Steve or anyone else. I just wanted them all to hurry up and get here, to layer on that hope we were short of.

I inched closer to Peter without making a conscious effort, as had started to become my habit. I tried to get his attention.

“So, we know where the Time Stone is, and the other Stones are probably okay, so there’s no need to worry, right?” I talked on nervously, longing for him to take away some of my uncontrollable jitters. “There’s a chance we’re doing good. Right?” I shouldn’t have ended with a question, because Peter just looked away, unable to lie even for me.

“I think it’s safe to say that this is only the beginning.”

My stomach freefell immediately and I could hardly hear over the loud rushing from the pumping of blood that came over my ears. He wasn’t wrong, at all. That’s what was so scary.

This was the fight of our lives.

It was about sunset when the aliens came back for round two. But this time I had a sword and a slightly higher morale, since now there were a few more capable heroes surrounding me. Both Peter and Tony made a protective wall around me, always in front and on either side, which was nice until it became obvious what the enemies were doing.

They were trying to penetrate their barrier. To get to me.

I barely had time to wonder why I was the target when both Peter and Tony were eventually drawn away from guarding me. I wasn’t too upset – when there were aliens descending on the city left and right, I didn’t want to be the priority. I prepared to make use of my sword, noticing that the same terrifying woman was closing in on me.

“Do you feel ready for this, now that you’ve been furnished with a weapon?” she inquired, gesturing irreverently to my gleaming red blade. I was sheepish but forced myself to answer.

“Well, not really, but I haven’t known what I’m doing all day, so it’d be stupid to think I do _now_.”

The lady seemed scornful. “Not only are you a coward, but an ignorant, arrogant fool, as well. Allow me to show you your place.”

I lifted my weapon with shaky hands, exhaling in the moments before her strike, but I watched her spear glow with crazy magical energy and immediately felt unfairly matched. A beat passed. Time slowed down. And then –

There was a rush and a thud behind me. I spun and my eyes lit up to see Wanda Maximoff standing there, eyes aglow with her red magic.

“You might wanna step aside,” she announced and I swiftly got the idea. Soon I was to her rear and she glanced back at me, prepping her power to put down on the alien, who now seemed relatively concerned.

“Run. I’ll hold her off.”

I didn’t have to think about it. My legs pumped and I was off in some direction, but I wasn’t paying attention to that. All I knew was _away_.

“That’s exactly what a coward would do!” was the last thing I heard from that interaction, called out by the evil woman. My heart panged with guilt for leaving what was supposed to be my own fight, but I knew it wouldn’t have ended well. I got lucky that Wanda showed up.

However, I had forced someone who’d just lost everything to do my own dirty work, and I automatically felt regretful, although there was nothing I could do about it now. Only when I had put major distance between myself and the danger did I finally turn to look as my lungs burned and gasped for air.

And that’s when my stomach truly churned. I could see more people running for their lives, but this time they were being _chased_ by something. Wild black creatures were taking off across the city, down every street I could see, with the animosity of crazed search dogs. Their anatomy was beyond anything I’d ever seen before but the sight screamed two things to me:

_Scary. Run!_

I made a quick judgement that I wouldn’t be able to outrun the things at the speed they were gaining on my position – also, I had to take into account how exhausted I already was – so instead I planted myself and at last possible second got ready to actually use the sword I’d been given. The space dogs were catching up with me and I saw that a few of them had set their focus on me in particular, as I happened to be the only person in my area. Maybe they were trained to find me, as well. Neither of those possibilities sat right with me.

I reared back to strike the first one with my blade when suddenly my entire body was jolted and then shot up into the sky. I was being carried.

“Nope. We’re getting out of here.”

I was _this_ close to shouting, “Aw, come on!” but in the end I didn’t feel _too_ put out that I didn’t have to fight the creatures. Tony was flying me away from the danger, and yet one look down and I felt terrified again.

“Uh, Tony,” I said with a voice full of concern. The alien woman was on the ground and clearly aiming her spear up at us. “She really hates me.”

“I got it.”

I braced myself as Tony tumbled and dodged and jerked. She was shooting energy blasts up at us but had missed so far. I knew we were trying to get out of her range, but it didn’t take long for that goal to become unattainable.

All it took was one shot, true to its mark, to render one of Tony’s thrusters useless. His left leg’s rocket power sputtered one last time before giving out completely and release heavy plumes of smoke. We instantly spun out of control without that important thruster to keep us balanced.

“We’re going down!” I heard him yell through the helmet. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to watch as the world turned and flipped around me. His metal arms wrapped to cover my torso and at the last second, Tony rotated his body so that his back was what touched down wherever we landed.

Yeah, he may have taken the brunt of the landing, but I had still crashed through the roof of a building and hit a hunk of metal after falling through the sky. I didn’t exactly get up and walk it off. I lay there for a few seconds, grunting and praying that I hadn’t gotten a concussion or been passed out for hours by the time I woke back up.

I rolled off of Tony, coughing and gasping, trying to clear my head. I was pretty sure that I was bleeding just below the hairline on my forehead and was covered in bruises, but other than that it just took a while for me to get my bearings. All I could see was bare concrete. But something wasn’t right.

“Small Fry. Hey, Small Fry, do you hear me? Earth to Sami. Hey, you alright?”

I coughed again, waving away the dust that flew around us, and nodded. He gave me his hand and helped me to my unsteady feet.

“So we have a problem.”

I snapped my head up at him and waited for an explanation that wouldn’t come in time, because all of a sudden the ground shook beneath my feet and the entire building lurched. The ceiling over our heads started to crumble and I instinctively placed my hands over my head.

“It’s coming down! I’m gonna get you outta here!”

My eyes widened when I noticed what was wrong. Tony wasn’t wearing his helmet anymore. And the building was the one that had been hit by the spaceship earlier. Our crash had aggravated it, put it past the literal tipping point.

_Sowhywasn’thewearinghishelmet?_

My mind ran through all the possible ways out. The walls around us were crumbling so fast that it was hard to think, but I knew we had to be on the top floor since what little momentum we had couldn’t have carried us through more concrete than that. So the only way out was through the side.

I looked back at Tony and realized where his mind was. He could have grabbed me again and barreled through a window, but would I even make it through another fall from this high up? Who knew how many floors this building had?

Before either of us could make a move, the ground rumbled again and broke apart completely. The side Tony stood on rose up into the air and my side slanted so that I lost my footing and began to slide downwards.

“Tony!”

If he had been on the same side of the crack as me, we both would have been tumbling unstoppably, but it was fortunate that he had traction and was able to scramble to reach me.

I was slipping. Completely against my control. Down, down, down…

But Tony grabbed me, locking our wrists. He held on to them to keep me stable. I tried to get a stand, but with all the falling debris around me, it was impossible.

I met Tony’s pained eyes, and a sob left my mouth.

“I can’t move, my legs are caught under the rubble.” I panted, looking for an option, and although I was dangling, there had to be a way to help, anything…

There was no structure left to the building. It had become a heap of unmanageable concrete – and grew worse every second. I could hardly tell which way was up or down.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Tony forced me to lock eyes with him. His face, slightly bloody, but mostly concerned, had no fear. “Look. It’ll be okay. You’ll find a way.”

He looked so eerily calm that I didn’t immediately see the nanotech crawling up my arms. It used our interlocked hands as a bridge from him to me, and when I looked down, the red metal was already covering my shoulders and spreading to my torso.

“No! _No_ , Tony! _Stop_! This can’t be it, I—”

“Tell Pepper and Ashton I love them.”

Tears streamed down my face, and I whispered, “No…”

After Tony gave the command, “FRIDAY, fire all thrusters, and get her out of here,” the headpiece locked shut over my face and I watched from behind the slits as I shot backwards, burst through a window, and was safely lowered to the ground once I was a large distance away from the crumbling construction.

As soon as I touched the ground I began trying to rip the suit off of me in anger, but the metal wouldn’t budge. Only when FRIDAY released it on my order did the chunks of metal fall off of my body, but by that time I was just watching in disbelief as the building I’d come from started to collapse even further. I could tell where the spaceship had collided with one of its top corners, because it was nonexistent. No wonder the whole thing had decided it was coming down.

I didn’t give myself enough time to think about anything else since my eyes instantly began scanning the wreckage for Tony. Once all of the armor was off my body, I started to hyperventilate and think about what I should do.

It took about half a second for me to start running. I was not even ten feet away from where I had landed when I was hindered, and someone grabbed me from behind. My first instinct was to fight back, but then I recognized the person’s strong arms and relaxed into his grip.

“It’s gonna be okay, I got you.”

“You have to let me go,” I pleaded tearfully, desperately. “I have to go find him, he’s still in there somewhere—”

“Let him go.”

Steve spoke finitely, and I was unable to make any headway against his hold. “Trying to dig him out won’t help anything. Let him go without any more pain.”

My first reaction was pure emotion. My eyes glowed and my clenched fists threatened to explode with energy, but the resistance from the suit was the only thing holding my raw golden energy inside. One look at the glassy blue eyes that watched me solemnly made me melt.

I instantly saw Steve’s point and broke down against him, falling forward into his chest and giving in to the tears. My angry fit disappeared with my glowing eyes, so that only I and Steve were left on the pavement, holding each other, but it was mostly me clinging to him for dear life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, um. I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me.


	18. Chapter 18

My entire body was shaking as we finally made our way back to where the others had gathered. Steve and I brought news of the opposite connotation – on their side, the creatures had all retreated at the same moment, lining right up with the time when Tony and I had crashed. It bothered me about the timing, but there was nothing I could do about it then and it didn’t help to worry. So I crossed my arms, blocked everything else out, and worried about how hard I was shaking.

It was chilly out, but not _that_ cold.

I didn’t end up remembering very much about our discussion when we met with what was left of the team, except that we had decided to stay under an overpass for the night and a few of them took turns keeping watch. No one really spoke to me, because with one word from Steve and no sign of Tony, they got the idea without missing a beat. Natasha hugged me, Rhodey looked down and placed a hand on my shoulder, and Peter tried to speak, but failed.

My eyes were teary for a while, but as the wind blew harder and the sound of cars passing overhead got louder, I just felt numb.

I could faintly notice the gentle chatter of the people surrounding me, but the only thing that shook me from staring off into the distance was when Peter grabbed my hand, seeing me shivering. “Here, you need sleep.”

He grabbed my backpack, removed my wadded-up jacket from inside, which I took gingerly. Peter gestured for me to lie down on the ground, and I did so, curling up with my jacket to get as warm as possible, however I still trembled. I clenched my eyes closed and squeezed the remaining tears out, trying to keep it together. The adrenaline still seemed to be pumping, but my exhaustion was also fighting to take over.

Suddenly I felt someone inch closer to me, close enough to wrap their arms around me. Peter’s body heat was such a welcome sensation that I leaned into him and soaked up the warmth. He kept inhaling as if he wanted to speak, but every time he ended up sighing.

“You don’t have to say anything,” I whispered, biting my lip.

“I just… I don’t know what to do.”

I sobbed silently once it had been spoken. Peter felt what I felt. It was my fault. All my fault.

_No, it wasn’t. It was not my fault. Tony made his choice. I couldn’t start this blame game. Not now._

But I had an impossible advantage. Because of my visions, I had known what would happen. I had just gotten distracted, let my own self get in the way—

I didn’t know if it was realistic to say that I could’ve prevented it, but the mere possibility was going to drive me crazy. I needed relief, or else I was going to sink down into a never-ending pit of guilt.

“We’re going to make it right,” said Peter finitely, even though his voice was cracked. “We’re going to keep fighting…”

He trailed off and although he didn’t finish his thought, I managed to find some sort of solace in his words. But I made them my own.

_I’m going to make this right. My actions caused this, and I will stop at nothing to make his sacrifice worth it. Thanos is going to pay._

That thought, that twisted, hopeful thought was my only relief, so I held on to it tightly. Somehow these sadness and rage fueled thoughts gave way to exhaustion and I, at last, fell asleep.

\---

The dawn woke me as soon as the sun appeared, but Peter still had his arms wrapped around me, unstirring, so I kept as motionless as possible, trying desperately to fall back to sleep. But once my mind got going, I couldn’t shut it back off. So I got angry at myself, which only intensified when Peter began to stir. I hadn’t moved an inch, so I supposed it was just because he sensed my heart rate pick up. He moaned softly.

“Sorry,” I whispered. I immediately regretted saying anything about it, though, because Peter never responded. It was either since he hadn’t heard me or because he didn’t feel like answering. I hoped it was the first option, but with his heightened senses, it was unlikely.

Fortunately I wasn’t the only one that the incoming light had awoken. The sounds of life slowly increased as the sun rose into the sky, and as far as I could tell, Steve was the first one to get up. Once he stood and stretched, all bets were off for the rest of the crew, and soon I heard so many bones creaking and joints popping it was obvious that we’d all just slept on the hard concrete for the night.

Peter and I finally sat up against the wall and waited for something to happen. But it seemed like everyone was waiting for that. Sam was the first to say something, breaking the silence, as we all happened to be staring at Steve.

“What do we do, Cap?”

His lips parted as he thought. All eyes were on him for answers to the question we’d all been mulling over ourselves. I didn’t see how he could answer it, since we had no idea what was going to happen, but he started to anyways.

“I think we have to—”

He was cut off, when suddenly something appeared besides us, snatching everyone’s attention. A familiar circle of golden sparks materialized, starting out small and then growing significantly until it was large enough for a man to peer through. For the first time thus far, I realized that Doctor Strange hadn't been in our company.

He gestured for us to come through the portal. “You guys can all come with me. We need to talk.”

For some crazy reason, Steve looked at me, which was the second time someone had turned to me for confirmation that Strange was okay. As if I was the only person in our company who could have known a magic sorcerer. My goodness.

I nodded sharply. “He’s a friend.”

Wanda was the first one to step through the portal, and we all followed, glad to have some sort of shelter, even if it was the Sanctum Sanctorum. We got into the large, dark space quite awkwardly, as it ended up being a bunch of heroes standing around without knowing what to do.

“I just don’t understand why you didn’t invite us here _before_ we had to sleep on the concrete,” Rhodey muttered, and Sam clearly heard him, because he continued the snark.

“Doesn’t seem like a _friend_ to me. What kinda people do you guys call _friends_?”

There were murmurs about how we had all just walked through a portal and appeared in a different place, but funnily enough, no one seemed too held up by it. I smirked as Doctor Strange stepped up to the group. “So, first things first. Do any of you have any sort of plan?”

His judgmental tone made our group feel a collective sense of offensiveness. Steve was mostly at a loss.

“Well, I know we have to make some sort of move. I don’t exactly know all that’s happened recently—”

“Sorry, who are you, again?”

Strange sighed. “I’m Doctor Stephen Strange and I… well, I do magic. I’m on your side,” he answered Rhodey steadily.

“He was with… with us when we went to space in that ship yesterday,” agreed Peter with a sad tone, like he had surprised himself. My eyes stung.

“So we’re just supposed to trust you?” Sam asked. “Because I don’t automatically trust someone who looks like they just walked out of a Harry Potter book.”

The sorcerer rolled his eyes. Quickly his magical cloak flew away. “Better?”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “Slightly. Didn’t get any less weird, though.”

“Can we focus for a second, boys?” Natasha asked, getting fed up with the banter. “You were with Tony, then.” The attention was back to Strange, who nodded somberly.

“Yes. My condolences.”

I almost lost it. “How do you know about that?” I demanded. I thought back and couldn’t remember seeing him after they got back from the spaceship. He was a little sheepish to respond.

“I looked forward, into the future. I saw fourteen million, six hundred and five different possible outcomes. And judging how he wasn’t with you this morning…”

I didn’t even get stuck on the painful part, still reeling from his explanation, as everyone else obviously was.

“You what?”

“I’m confused…”

“Come again?”

“You can see the future?”

“How are we supposed to believe that? Dude has a _flying cape_ and says he’s a fortune teller…”

I mulled this over in my brain. It had to be true. Doctor Strange could definitely do things like that. Steve was looking at me again, furrowing his brow a bit, as if lost in thought but also asking me questions with his eyes. I didn’t know how to react, so I just shrugged.

“That’s true, isn’t it?” I inquired after a few moments, mainly to myself. Strange looked at me. “It has to be. You saw how this ends – or _could_ end.”

He nodded softly, and the captain was the next one to speak, bringing up a logical question.

“How many did we win?”

The doctor didn’t hesitate, per se, but he wasn’t too glad to answer, either.

“One.”

Clint didn’t miss a beat and spoke for the first time so far. “But you know how to make it happen, right? How _we_ can do it? You gotta tell us.”

“I know what needs to happen, yes,” Strange replied slowly. “But if I tell you what that is, it won’t happen.”

I struggled to breathe smoothly as my heart pounded. He was right, absolutely right. I read no signs of lying from him, instead just pure sincerity. And why would he lie with those bleak odds, anyways? I did _not_ like the sound of our chances. It was now _one_ out of _fourteen million six hundred and five_ that we beat this.

I shuddered.

The group’s morale was seriously getting beaten with a club. I didn’t think even the positive leader that Steve was could possibly make anything sound good out of all this. Personally, I felt like my entire body was breaking down. I desperately needed to get some alone time, but I also felt the urge to stay and help everyone plan. I was clearly a part of this, now, so pretending like I didn’t need to be here was dumb. I had to suck it up because everyone else already had.

“Well, let’s start somewhere. What do we know? Does anyone have any information to share, so we can make a plan of action?”

Steve asked this, making a determined expression and snapping everyone else to attention. Strange crossed his arms, looking slightly pleased, awaiting a response. There were a few murmurs, but I knew I was the only that could say it.

“He wants _me_.”

The entire team stared at me. Some, like Peter and Clint, were probably expecting it, but others seemed genuinely shocked.

“What are you saying? What do you have to do with this?”

Natasha’s question didn’t even sound harsh since she asked it softly and it was a completely valid concern. I sucked in a deep breath and measured my words before answering. “I’m obviously his target. The one alien woman… she was specifically trying to get me. To take me back to him, she said. And they would have if it wasn’t for – if it wasn’t for Wanda. And Tony.”

The silence was heavy after I finished speaking, and Peter grabbed my hand, but I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. Saying all of this out loud was hard enough without having to see his eyes.

“Why?” Steve breathed. “What do you have that—”

“This. Well, just a minute.” I shut everyone up by rolling my left sleeve up quickly, hoping it would work. The area of skin that wasn’t covered by the suit soon glowed slightly with built up power, and I was glad to see it. I exhaled and opened my palm, releasing floating, glittering, golden energy. I saw several eyes widen, and even though my heart pounded, I managed to keep it going until someone dared to ask,

“What is that? Your eyes…” Thor breathed, looking perplexed. Like he was wondering if everyone else was seeing what he saw.

I blinked and stopped the light show. “I don’t know what it is, I just know some things I can do with it. Sometimes I see the future, or, possibilities of it. I can blast stuff. Yeah, I um, blew up an observatory one time. So there’s that.”

“But still, you’re just like the rest of us, now,” Clint remarked soundly. “We all have our thing. So what’s different about yours?”

“Maybe he wants to use her for something specific,” agreed Natasha. “Something none of us can do. Can you think of what that could be?”

I shrugged, biting my lip. I really didn’t want to talk about it, but I knew I had to. “Not really. Unless it’s something to do with showing him the future. But I don’t think it would – sorry, I just don’t know how this all works. Or what he could get out of me.”

“What if it’s information?” Steve piped up, moving his eyes off of the floor and flitting them around the room, landing on me. “You know a lot about this world, and _others_ … so what if he needs that to complete his plan?”

I swallowed thickly. “I mean… I don’t really… I just don’t know. I guess.”

Rhodey inhaled and placed his hand on my shoulder knowingly. “It’s not that any of us _like_ these possibilities. I think it’s safe to say that these are all worst-case-scenario options.”

The group collectively nodded, and I could sense the mutual agreement that this would never happen, which calmed me down a little knowing that they would all do whatever they could to help me face this. But I had to make something else known.

“Thanks. Look, I need you guys to know that I don’t expect any of you to handle this for me. I know you all wouldn’t let anything happen to me. It’s my problem, though, and I have to stand up and… and fight it. But I appreciate the, um, help.”

Just then, as the heroes nodded, I locked eyes with Strange, who was watching me closely, silently. I realized he hadn’t contributed to the discussion since we left the subject of him seeing the future, and I figured I knew the reason why.

“You know how I fit into all this, right?”

Strange uncrossed his arms, and hesitated, but then relented into a sharp nod. “Yes.”

“And there’s nothing you can tell me?”

“Not without influencing your actions. You have to come to your own conclusions about what to do, or else this won’t work.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s the _second_ time I’ve heard that, and I don’t like it.”

“Then I’d suggest seeking out someone else who could give you more information about your powers.”

I frowned, disappointed. “Like Loki? You’re kidding! I already went through all that one time too many!”

\---

In the end, I was sitting in a chair, running my fingers over my lips and face, listening to the more mature ones go over practical plans – not just ideas, but actions. I really didn’t have any more to say, because they were discussing what needed to be done and I had no idea what that could be. They made a list of all known Infinity Stones and marked the ones which their location was unknown. So the Tesseract and the Mind Stone were immediately crossed out, to everyone’s chagrin. It didn’t help that we didn’t know where the Power Stone was, but Thor was pretty sure Thanos already had it. That left the Time Stone, still safe around Strange’s neck, and the Soul Stone, which no one had any information on whatsoever.

It didn’t sit right with me.

Thor volunteered to go out into space to search for the Aether, to protect it from Thanos alone, taking a small spacecraft from the Tower to do so. I didn’t know how all of this was planned so quickly, but it was, and soon Thor was gone. We’d lost a large layer of extra protection already.

I was staring at the floor when the topic switched over to what we would do to protect the Eye of Agamotto. Most of the remaining heroes agreed that we should stay together, until Strange spoke, gesturing to me.

“I believe it’s important to note that there are two people of special interest here. Not just me. _She_ has to be protected, too.”

My eyes grew a bit wider when I noticed that Strange had given a piece of crucial knowledge out that clearly had to do with what he had seen. I would have smiled at him but there was too much going on and I had too much to rack my brain over.

“So keeping you both in the same place would be…”

“Like a beacon, calling Thanos straight to us,” Wanda finished Peter’s thought. My boyfriend crossed his arms, creasing his brow. Clint brought up the only solution.

“Then it’s simple. We make two teams, go off in different directions. One to protect the Stone, the other to protect Sami.”

I was abject to this proposition at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made a lot of sense. I sat back and waited for the first volunteer, which in the end was surprising.

“I’ll stay with Sami,” Steve interjected protectively. “I, um, think it’s my duty.”

I looked up at him, trying to get a read on his expression, but all I saw was regret. I knew why he had done this. Because Tony had trusted him with me.

“Then you can count me in, too, Cap,” supplied Sam. Natasha just sighed.

“Well, somebody’s gotta help you keep an eye on these boys.”

Peter stepped close to me quickly. “Don’t worry, I’ll come with you guys, then. Sami is—”

“I don’t think so, Peter.” He looked at me, confusion plastered all over his innocently concerned face. I took a shaky breath.

“What?” he asked. “No, I gotta come with you. What are…?”

“It’s nothing against you. Not that I don’t think you could help, or anything like that… I know you want to, but I can’t… I can’t let you. You’ll… it’ll be because of me if something happens.”

I studied his face and eyes. _You’re all I have left_ , I told him without words. _Don’t put me through this again._

Peter relented, and it broke my heart, but Steve stepped forward and shook his hand.

“Hey, Queens, I promise, she’ll be in good hands.” That small act, giving Peter _Captain America’s_ own word to keep me safe, made me smile in the middle of all the chaos I felt. Because Peter gave in, nodding, and I knew that this was as good of a plan that we could have put together.

When all was said and done, I had Sam, Natasha, and Steve with me, and Rhodey, Wanda, Clint, and Peter would stay at the Sanctum with Strange. Steve suggested that they take me in the direction of an airport, since I made the point that I still had some things to figure out and we may need a way to get away from Thanos for a while, if he decided to come back. Both groups consented to let the other know immediately if he was to ever appear to either of them, so that they all could join the fight. Rhodey instantly set off to call Fury and work on evacuation plans as well as call in as much help as he could find.

I nervously tugged on the sleeves of my suit as Steve, Sam, and Natasha, in all their suited-up glory, headed toward the door to leave. Since we didn’t know what was going to happen anytime soon, we guessed that hanging around in the same place Thanos knew we were was a bad idea.

Doctor Strange opened the large doors for us and the noise and light of the city streets came into view once again. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the brightness out of the dark sanctum and was about to step outside when someone grabbed my shoulder.

“Sami, I… I love you.”

Peter said this softly, as I turned to look at him, and then just stood there. I didn’t know if he was waiting for me to say something at first, but I didn’t, so he continued.

“I just needed you to know that.”

I tried to smile at him bravely. “I did.” I stepped a bit closer, and he was just looking at me. It was like we had a whole conversation without words, but there was something else I felt needed to be done, and Peter wasn’t making any moves, so…

I kissed him.

“This isn’t goodbye,” I said swiftly, after the nice moment. He seemed absolutely wrecked, with red, teary eyes. I hated doing this to him, so I went on. “We’ll figure it out, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” he sniffed. “We will. I’ll see you soon.”

Suddenly, someone placed their hand on my shoulder, for like the sixteenth time that day, and I looked up to see Rhodey pursing his lips in a half-smile at me. He reached forward to wrap his arms around me and I hugged him tightly. And then Wanda wanted a hug, and Clint slapped my back lightly. I got a lot of “be safe, kiddo” and “see you around”. But finally time for goodbyes was up, and Steve directed me outside gently.

I couldn’t help except think that someone was about to tell me to stop being so sappy and get it together, but then I remembered that the one person who would’ve dared to say that wasn’t here.

My entire chest was hurting. However, I knew that if I started crying then it wouldn’t stop. So I had to keep going, numbing myself to my thoughts in order to keep myself focused on the task at hand. The four of us were outside, making our way down the street alone, with Steve as our leader, before I could process very much.

I just couldn’t believe that I had made this decision. I’d left behind the people I had spent the most time with for a trio that I hadn’t seen in almost a year. And yet I had absolutely no problem with it. The combination of Sam, Natasha, and Steve all with me equaled _safe_ in my eyes. I kept looking at Steve, and his face said it every time. I saw sympathy, slight confusion, but mostly determination.

So I knew for certain that I had done the right thing.

\---

(about a year ago)

The time had come for Pepper’s baby shower. But it was not really a shower, because Tony Stark’s son did not need a bunch of strangers to buy a million things for him. So it ended up being just me, Peter, Pepper, and Tony for the night. We teamed up and got Ashton a present to surprise Pepper, but when we walked in the area that was decorated in all blue and green for the baby, my jaw dropped when I saw it.

Over a small table covered in presents and a cake was a banner. It had the baby’s full name on it.

_Ashton Peter Stark._

I looked at Pepper, who bit her lip as she smiled at me, and then at Tony, who smirked and averted his gaze. Peter was the first to say something.

“You named him after me?” he demanded, and I didn’t know if he sounded happy or not. But I shook my head. That wasn’t it.

“My dad,” I said, almost whispering it to myself. “You gave him my dad’s name.”

Pepper nodded quickly, with excitement, as if bursting to explain, but my eyes were more focused on Tony, who didn’t seem to want to own up to it. Which only screamed to me how much of a part he’d had in the selection.

“We were struggling to find a middle name for him that we both agreed on… all the ones Tony suggested were _awful_ ,” Pepper admitted giddily. “He even considered Jarvis, but I told him that I am _not_ naming our son after a computer.”

“Jarvis was my butler, first…” Tony muttered. He met my eyes and took over the explanation from there. “But we wanted his name to mean something. Your dad… I can’t imagine what he’s going through without you. It’s kinda my fault. And before you start defending me, I get it. This is just… our way of honoring that, even if no one would ever really know.”

Not much more was said about it, other than that maybe twelve percent of the naming had to do with Peter Parker, which relatively appeased him for the evening. I managed to keep myself together, but of course I could hardly manage to focus on anything else for the rest of the night.

Only at three o’clock in the morning, when rational thinking is at its finest, did my true feelings come out. I’d gone back and forth between extremes, thinking it was crazy and that I should _not_ tell him, to that I just needed sleep, to that I needed to tell him right this second because there was no time to waste. Finally, I sat up in bed, angry at myself for doing this, but something had to be done because I couldn’t bottle it all up.

“FRIDAY, is Tony asleep?”

“No, he is working down in his lab.”

I rubbed at my eyes. Of course he was. Sometimes he went to bed with Pepper, now more often than not, but it still wasn’t unusual for him to be up in the early hours of the morning, sucking away at coffee and doing whatever satisfied him. So I quickly got up, knowing this was my best chance to get it off my chest and get him alone to do so.

“I know I don’t call you Dad, and I have to tell you why.”

I had been able to sneak in noiselessly, in socked feet and soft pajamas, so that I had caught Tony mid-slurp and he froze, turning from what he was looking at.

“What?” He looked at a nearby clock. “Sami, it’s three in the morning…”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep until I told you. And I know it probably doesn’t bother you, but just in case it does… and it bothers _me_ , so…” Tony crossed his arms, seeming genuinely confused and almost concerned for me. “To me, I feel like when someone adopts a kid, they start out being weird about it, but then eventually they would call them dad, or whatever. But… I haven’t ever done that because to me, you’re Tony. And it seems like… I would be disrespectful to, well, my dad, if I moved on so quickly. And—”

Tony cut in right here. “Listen, Small Fry, you don’t have to—”

“No, I do,” I argued. “You should know. Because it’s not like I don’t have a reason to call you dad. You freaking _adopted_ me. If anyone deserves it, it’s you. After all you’ve done… I think about it a lot. And I feel bad.” I sighed. “I just don’t want you to think that I don’t think of you like my dad, or like you haven’t earned the title, because you have.”

I wanted to say more, but I was struggling to get it all out fast enough, and more words weren’t coming to my brain, so he spoke up to inquire,

“What brought this on? Why are you telling me this now, when you’ve clearly been thinking about it for a while?”

I frowned. “As if you don’t know.” He still waited for my explanation, knowing it was deeper than that. “I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to wait until your own son comes for anyone to think of you as their dad. Because I’m here, and I do.”

With this, I started crying, unable to hold it back any longer, and Tony scowled softly. “Come here, kid.”

I had so much on my mind that it was simply overwhelming. I felt entirely stupid, given Tony’s nonchalant reaction, but he was being surprisingly comforting with his hug. He pulled back, and glancing at my tearful eyes, averted his gaze completely, fiddling with stuff on his desk absentmindedly.

“I guess I’m glad you told me, but you didn’t need to. I pretty much knew that already. You’re not exactly the most discrete about your feelings, you know?”

I laughed, wiping my eyes, but I was mad at him. “Stop, you’re gonna make me cry more and it’ll be your fault!”

Tony smirked. “I don’t see how any of this is my fault.”

“Well just say something to make me stop crying!” I huffed quickly.

He thought for a moment. “I just am curious. What did you think would come out of this? That I’d want you to call me dad, or stick with Tony?”

I pursed my lips. “I… I didn’t really get that far.”

He snickered. “Well, if it sounds good to you, we’ll keep it at Tony, because it’s not like I have to call you _daughter_ for you to get the picture, either. On my part, too, you should know that I always thought of you and me like that, whether we ever said it or not. So it’ll be our unspoken agreement. From now on, _dad_ and _daughter_ are synonymous with _Tony_ and _Small Fry_.”

I smiled widely at him, my tears having faded. Now that was the kind of resolution I needed. Tony played it off as nothing, but it made me so satisfied with myself that even though I was embarrassed for treating it like we were in a soap opera, as he claimed, I went to sleep smiling.

\---

“So do you have any kind of plan?” Sam asked, not Steve, but me. I raised my eyebrows and pondered it.

“Well, I know I have to find some more information. I don’t know how I’m going to get it, though.”

“Gee, this is all really helpful,” Natasha murmured. I narrowed my eyes, looking ahead at the sidewalk on which we were walking.

“It’s not like anyone else knows more than I do.”

“The wizard did,” Sam complained. “I still don’t like him.”

“Then the options for now, until we find out more, is to keep walking, or I could find us a car to get to the facility.”

“I think we should keep walking,” I immediately suggested to Steve, and everyone looked at me. I shrugged. “We might pass something in the car that we need to deal with. People could need our help.”

“Or Loki could show up with the Tesseract,” Natasha added, sounding entirely sarcastic, but it didn’t seem too far-fetched, to me. I was kinda wishing for something like that to happen soon. Luckily no one seemed to have anything against my idea, so we kept walking, helping a few stragglers get to safety through the wreckage here and there.

“So, that suit,” Steve remarked softly after a bit. “It dampens your powers?”

I nodded. It was an astute assumption because I hadn’t come right out and said it. “Yeah.”

“Why do you wear it?”

“Because I don’t know what this power does, really. And I can’t control it well enough to trust myself.”

He furrowed his brow, looking skeptical. “Is that _you_ talking, or someone else?” When I stuttered to answer, he explained himself. “I just noticed how frustrated you were about not being able to help.”

“If I could, I would do a lot more,” I finally agreed slowly. “But I, uh, made a promise.”

This was all I had to say for Steve to get the point. He inhaled, dared to look at me with shining blue eyes one more time, and then dropped the subject solemnly. It was also the first time I noticed, _really_ noticed, how much he had changed from the last time I’d saw him. He had gotten rid of his beard, which I had not yet gotten used to, and was now sporting his usual clean-shaven look, although his blond hair had still grown out. He wore his navy Winter Soldier suit with the silver star in the center, looking as capable as ever.

I knew the feeling of being suited up and ready for action, because like putting on work clothes, it made you feel prepared. But it wasn’t the case for me. My suit seemed to wear on me, bringing me down instead of making me feel strong. I also had a pretty bad headache, but I tried my best not to think about it.

Since our method of transportation grew very uneventful after a while, Sam took to the sky to get an overhead view. At first there was nothing to see but the remaining debris and evacuating people, but then he spoke on Cap’s comm. I could only hear one side of the conversation, though. Steve stopped in his tracks.

“Blue? Can you close in on it?” He waited. Then his creases of confusion disappeared.

“What?” I asked curiously. Natasha watched him intensely.

“That sounds like the Tesseract.” My eyes widened and he continued to question Sam. “Baggage? What kind of—”

Steve finally looked at me. I gestured with my arms for him to tell us what was going on. He just shook his head. “He said we’ll see.”

The moment arrived with a minute of the statement, as something swooped down from the sky and two figures hit the ground in front of us. First a man in dark clothing was shoved forward harshly, stumbling before standing upright with his palms turned outward at us, clearly agitated. He rolled his eyes as Sam landed smoothly, stepping forward with the glowing Tesseract in his hand.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” he remarked. Steve and Nat were on the ball with defenses, with the former grabbing his shield without missing a beat and the latter doing the same with her two guns, aiming them at the black-haired man.

“For the record, I was just trying to find you,” Loki said suspiciously, alarming me by focusing his eyes on me specifically. I made a face at him, trying not to let him see how much that bothered me.

“Um, yeah, _what_?”

“How did you get that? Thor said Thanos took it,” Steve told Loki boldly.

“Thanos currently possesses an illusion,” the trickster explained quietly, looking at the otherworldly blue cube of interest in Sam’s grasp. “Perhaps my best work so far. This happens to be the real one.”

Steve and Nat shared a look, and then the captain cleared his throat, starting out slowly. “Well, you’ve got _something_ there. Let’s say you’re telling the truth. What happens when Thanos finds out that what he has isn’t real?”

Loki swallowed and had the audacity to smile. “Then I have reason to believe he will be coming for me, sooner rather than later.”

I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how he said _me_ , and not _it_. Which implied _us_ if he didn’t leave. Loki appeared relatively unbothered by the thought, but I figured he had to be scared.

No one said anything because nothing seemed like the right thing today, but Sam broke the tension at least momentarily.

“Would someone else like to hold this thing for a second? It’s definitely about to burn a hole through my hand.”

I offered to stow it in my bag without hesitation, not allowing Loki the chance to have it and making sure I kept an eye on it. Steve didn’t automatically approve of this idea but didn’t have any valid objections or alternatives. I held it and attempted not to think about the amount of energy that was in my hand as I placed it inside my bag.

Needless to say I was pretty careful with the backpack after that.

“So what exactly was your goal? You escaped with the Tesseract, and you were bringing it… where?”

Loki rolled his eyes, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “To find protection, of course. I had assumed my brother was here with you all so I came to seek him out.”

“Well, you just missed him. He went to space to protect the Aether,” I filled him in. Regret filled my chest though because now Loki was looking at me again. I hated giving him reasons to do that.

“Ah, I see. So what is your plan in his absence?”

“Like we would actually tell you,” answered Natasha, adjusting the guns in her grasp, pointed at Loki, who was still indifferent. “What’s _your_ plan?”

Loki didn’t seem thrilled about this double standard but he replied anyway. “I suppose I should help my brother. I don’t believe I’ll be of much use here…”

“You’re dropping the Tesseract with us and running? Someone’s afraid of Thanos,” Sam commented contemptuously. I scowled.

“Doesn’t surprise me.”

“Yes, I _am_ fearful of Thanos, as you all should be. Don’t forget, I’ve already faced him. Once is quite enough for my lifetime.”

“You could do something _good_ this time, you know,” I said all of a sudden, with a burst of a bunch of different feelings. Mostly I felt indignant and fed up with his attitude. “They have New York against you, but they don’t know what else you’ve done. I do. And I know you have the capacity for helping out. You just have to make your choice and stick with it. Maybe running’s your thing, I don’t know, but what I do know is that in order to stop Thanos, it’d be nice to have as many allies as possible. And I can’t consider you one yet.”

Loki merely smirked. Natasha, most of all, seemed impressed by my response. I, for one, couldn’t believe that I had been brave enough to say all of that to him, but it felt good.

“What is your suggestion, then?” I shrugged.

“That’s up to you.”

He just looked at me, as if trying to read something on me, but failing. I straightened my posture daringly in response. Sam was the one who broke the silence.

“Okay, what’s going on here? Are you two arguing telepathically, like in your minds?”

I snorted, smiling, but Loki answered before I had the chance.

“I need to speak with Sami. Alone.”

Steve’s eyes caught mine immediately, and I knew he was totally against this. But like Doctor Strange had said, I needed more information.

“It’s fine,” I assured him. “We have stuff to go over.” The three heroes exchanging looks of concern but ultimately gave me the trust in the situation and left us alone, scouring the block ahead of us so that Loki and I could have a private conversation.

“I suppose the last time we spoke, our discussion was interrupted,” he started. “But I’m afraid there may not be much more I can share.”

I sighed deeply. “I don’t want to have to beg. We talked to Strange, who apparently saw the future, and wouldn’t tell me _anything_ about it except that I’m really important and that I need more information. I’m running low on options, here.”

“What do you expect me to be able to say? You have a perfectly functional knowledge for the time. You know that Thanos will stop at nothing to get you, and that your power is very important. What more could I share with you that would be of consequence?”

“Oh, I don’t know, just like a million things! Like what I’m supposed to do with it!”

Loki crossed his arms. “Not let him get it, obviously.”

I couldn’t roll my eyes hard enough for that so I didn’t. Instead I settled for rubbing my temples in annoyance, and finally allowing myself to plead with him. “Loki, _please_.”

He was probably satisfied with how I had resorted to begging, very unwillingly, because his lips were pulled slightly upward with a smile and he went ahead to answer. “Fine. I suppose I can tell you about the prophecy.”

I was so done. My eyes were likely as big as saucers. “There’s a _prophecy_? See, _this_ is why people have a hard time trusting you.”

Loki gave no inclination that he had even heard me and continued. “I don’t know it word for word, but if I may paraphrase, it speaks of an anomaly. A day when a person would leave one world, survive a hard journey to a new universe, and live a life there with little to no harmful effects. All would seem fine, but they would create a domino effect within the multiverse, and also, in that moment, a power would attach itself to them. A power never before harnessed.”

I choked on my own words. “And you think that means me?”

He definitely judged me for that question. “Of course. Who else would it be? If you needed more proof, it also said that the person is pure of heart and would have to decide the fate of the universe. I don’t remember if it specified that the person is a woman, though…”

I was still stuck on the deciding the fate of the universe part. I laughed nervously. “Yeah, I, uh, don’t think that can be…”

“Well, it is. It has to be you. It lines up with everything that has happened so far.”

_With great power comes great responsibility._

I shook my head to clear it. “So… okay, so what do you mean by domino effect?” Loki pursed his lips.

“I suppose your transition wasn’t as smooth as you thought. The effect was felt in other universes, and while I don’t exactly know what the repercussions are, we may see evidence of that soon enough.”

I swallowed, figuring something out. “Like… let’s say someone turned into another version of themselves for a moment… like Sherlock Holmes… and like it really freaked me out… would that have anything to do with it?” I asked quietly. The trickster frowned at me.

“Yes, and strangely, I’d wager that scenario is not quite hypothetical.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Hold on… I have another question. Just one more. What does Thanos want to use my power for? I know you know, so don’t even pretend like you don’t. You have to tell me.”

“I won’t deny that I know the truth, but regardless, I cannot divulge that particular information to you. There are some forms of meddling too dangerous for even me to attempt.”

I was furious, but Loki, rather than getting defensive, seemed slightly regretful. “You don’t know how much I would like to be the one to tell you. But it’s _your_ fate.”

I huffed quickly and looked away, being finally done with all of this. I had gotten some more out of him, a lot more, but I still felt like there were too many questions left. Steve, Nat, and Sam must have read my body language or sensed that we were done talking because they ran up to us. Loki only said, “Perhaps I’ll be seeing you all soon enough,” before taking off using the Bifrost to find his brother.

Suddenly, all heads turned to look at me and a million questions followed. Steve was first up. “Did he… was he threatening you?”

I shook my head. “No, he was… well, pretty nice. Absolutely annoying, but what he said was helpful. I gotta be honest.”

This answer certainly shocked them. “What did he say?” Natasha demanded. I took deep breath.

“Just that there was an ancient Asgardian prophecy about me and the multiverse is breaking down and that I will have to decide the fate of the universe in the end.” Sam smiled, laughing to himself, even though I didn’t think it was all that funny.

“Come on, that’s all he said? You don’t have to be so dramatic.”

Steve glared at him with a confused expression, while Nat just smirked and looked down before reaching to squeeze my shoulder empathetically, seeing how I was inconsolable. Sam just clarified his comment.

“It was a joke. I know she didn’t – you know what, it’s fine. I just thought someone should lighten the mood.” The captain still wasn’t with it so his friend just cleared his throat. “That’s what I contribute to the team Besides the awesome flight skills, and the shooting… I provide the jokes. Guess you all are just too serious to appreciate my gifts—”

“Sam, it’s really not the time—”

“No, whatever. I’m already off my game. Let me know if you ever feel like smiling, I got you.”

I did smile at this, despite how I didn’t feel like it, because I was grateful for the attempt to take away the seriousness of it all. Sam went on, and I didn’t know if it was the wisest given how annoyed Steve seemed.

“You know, let me be real here.” He looked at me. “Your coolness level keeps going up, and I don’t know how you do it. I thought your name made you uncool, because what kinda _girl_ is named Sam, but maybe it’s giving you good luck. If so, you’re welcome.”

This time I actually laughed, which made both Natasha and finally Steve smile back. I decided to make my own sarcastic comment.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a coolness level. But it has nothing to do with my name. _Sami_ is a very feminine name. There’s a difference. If it bothers you, though, that I’m so much cooler, you can call me Samantha.”

I didn’t know where this level of snark came from, but I wasn’t mad about his reaction. Sam simply grinned and gave me another fist bump.

“I knew I liked you. You really stick to your guns, kid.”


	19. Chapter 19

I had to admit, I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I was having a total mental breakdown and an existential crisis at the same time, but somehow, some way, I was keeping it together outwardly. I supposed I should have pursued an acting career.

We continued down the sidewalk, but everything was now different. Steve was absentmindedly searching for a car that was in good enough condition to steal, and Natasha was making sure the buildings were clear of people. But I couldn’t get over the fact that I had chosen to keep walking and as a result, found everything I now knew and held the Tesseract in my bag.

I mean… I had something Thanos wanted. Two things, really. Two bargaining chips. Two ways out. And two ways to doom the universe forever if he got them.

I was on the verge of throwing up.

Steve walked so quickly, so purposefully, and his strides were almost three times as long as mine so I had to practically jog to keep his pace. “So, what do you think he meant by deciding the fate of the universe? Was there any truth to that?”

I’d actually been racking my brain about it so far because I knew that that was what I would have to figure out by the end of all this. It was the answer to the question that no one could say. Apparently. But I felt like being forced to come up with the truth all by myself was stupid, so I was glad to be able to bounce ideas off of someone like Steve, who did care about saving the world from Thanos.

“I’m really not sure, but we do have an Infinity Stone. That’s something we can’t forget. And we can’t let him get it.”

“Do you think that’s doable?”

I pursed my lips somberly. “I don’t know what to expect from Thanos, to be honest. Something bigger than anything before. But it doesn’t matter if it’s doable, does it? It has to be done.”

Steve almost smiled. “I think I’m rubbing off on you too much.”

I snorted and almost remarked that I didn’t really think it was him who had influenced me, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually say it. I guessed I must have looked really upset, though, because Steve’s mood dampened and he looked at me regretfully. But he didn’t say anything about it, so I felt fortunate.

The city that was once full of life was pretty empty and people were scarce, so it was easy to find a car. As Steve pried the door of a silver car open and began hotwiring it, he was justified, claiming, “The owner didn’t need it, I guess.” It was parked on the side of the street and only took a few minutes before it was up and running. I felt numb to any sort of guilt as we hopped into a stolen car, because we needed it a lot more than whoever owned it, really. This was world-saving business now.

“I call shot-gun,” I announced, opening up the passenger side door and getting in next to Steve. No one really complained at this decision. I just wanted to sit across from the captain so that we could talk, if needed. I wasn’t sure, but there seemed to be a lot to go over. Nat and Sam must have agreed with this logic since they crammed into the backseat together without (much) complaining.

I thought it was humorous that Sam automatically sat behind me and my short legs so that Steve wouldn’t have to move his seat up. Which prompted me to ask,

“Where’s Bucky?” The question shook Steve to attention and I hurried on to make it seem less harsh. “I mean, I know he’s probably still in Wakanda, but… is he doing okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. As far as I can tell, they’ve really helped him recuperate. As much as is possible, I guess. And apparently T’Challa is preparing Wakanda for a battle, just in case it gets that far. I think he’s bringing Bucky here, too.”

“Really? Is he well enough for all this?”

“He wanted to help with the fight,” Steve shrugged. I raised my eyebrows, both with surprise and pride.

“Wow. Well, I mean, we definitely appreciate all the help we can get right now.”

“You’ve got that right.”

We rode on in silence for a while. I just thought to myself, getting lost in my own mind for a few minutes before remembering that I was in the car with others, but no one said anything, so it didn’t really matter that I was zoning out. Steve just looked out at the road as we drove through traffic on the interstate, heading towards upstate New York.

He looked down when he heard a buzz, and I did the same instantly. It was my phone, sitting in one of the cupholders on the console between us, vibrating from an incoming call. My heart sank to my toes when I saw the person’s contact picture smiling up at me.

Pepper, my adoptive mother, was calling me.

I bit my lip and didn’t even touch the phone. The buzzing sound gave me anxiety, and I almost reached to grab it, but then I realized why she was calling. What I would have to tell her. How I would have to explain why Tony wasn’t answering any of her calls—

I broke down. What was left of my façade melted away and my eyes welled with tears. I covered my mouth with my hands, turning away from the phone, and Natasha suggested to take it for me. I listened to her softly answer the phone for me.

“Hey, Pepper. It’s Natasha. No, Sami’s fine, she’s with us. Me, Sam, and Steve are here to help. We’ve been okay so far. Hey, listen, um, about that… I know he hasn’t answered you. It’s… Pepper, he’s… Tony’s gone.”

I closed my eyes, pursed my lips, and let the tears leak down my face. The soft conversation in the backseat faded away and even though Steve didn’t say anything, I knew he was thinking about what the best thing to say would be.

“I should have answered it,” I finally said, glancing over at him sadly. “It was my responsibility. She called _me_ …”

He shook his head firmly. “No one expected you to have to handle that. Pepper didn’t know. It’s what we’re here for.”

I closed my eyes and leaned back on the seat, just letting the tears come because there was no going back now. Steve was still silent, because there was nothing to be said, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Pepper’s reaction to what Nat was telling her, and what she would think of me for not being brave enough to tell her myself.

I knew she wouldn’t actually think worse of me, but it’s just where my mind went.

And then someone touched my shoulder comfortingly, and I was at first very shocked to hear who spoke.

“Hey, kid, we’re gonna get you through this. It’s not wrong to have all sorts of feelings, but what can be bad is holding them all inside. That’s what makes stupid decisions later on down the line. Trust me, I know.”

Sam’s profession of PTSD counseling was not something I usually thought about, but now it was really coming through, and I was so grateful.

I tried my best for a deep breath, but it was hard. “I just… I feel like I have to stay focused on what we’re doing. I can’t break down right now…”

“Look, if you don’t deal with these things now, you _will_ have a breakdown later.” He said it so confidently that I swallowed and nodded even though I couldn’t see him. He was probably right. Definitely right. So, I inhaled again and crossed my arms, trying to get the words out.

“I just… can’t believe it. Tony’s…” I choked back a sob. “ _Gone_. This is not my first time losing a… and it’s just not fair. I can’t just move on, but I have to, because if I don’t, the world’s gonna end.”

“Good. Anything else?”

I sighed, rubbing my face, frantically steadying my breaths. “I… every time I try not to think about it, because there are other things to do… or when I feel… when I feel a little bit happy… I feel like I’m disrespecting him. I’m supposed to be grieving.”

Natasha was the one to take this, since her phone call had ended. “Sami, do you realize who we’re talking about, here? Tony was the king of making jokes at inappropriate times. If anything, he’d want you to do that. But if you somehow think he’d want you to mope around about this, you didn’t really know him.”

Involuntarily, I thought back to all of the times when we’d be having a serious discussion or a fight or something and Tony tried to make me laugh by calling someone a name or being sarcastic. Usually it didn’t work, but he couldn’t help but lighten the mood. And the thought made me actually smile.

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right.” At last Steve opened his mouth to speak, and I listened closely, figuring he had finally decided what to say.

“I’m glad I’m not the one talking you through this,” he admitted quietly. “My speeches usually involve explaining away the casualties of war and how we have to move on, keep fighting. But that’s not what this is.”

I knew that the last thing Steve was insensitive, which is why he hadn’t said much about this. And this little statement made me think really hard about what I was going through. This wasn’t a battle where we lost soldiers. This was a war that I had been thrown into without knowing anything and Tony… he’d given his life for me. Of course, I was going to keep fighting, but I couldn’t just move on. I was filled with anxiety when I thought about what I would have to face if I made it out of all this.

I had to. For my family.

I still kept crying, but after hearing all of this, I felt slightly stronger, able to face more, and allowed myself to start wiping my tears away without many more flowing back out. It was progress. I hoped the car ride would be pretty long, because I needed a nap and a lot of time to compose myself.

I laid back against the headrest, closing my eyes to get my thoughts in order, when I peeked one eye open, hearing another striking noise from Steve.

“So, where’re we off to, babe? I don’t exactly remember how I got here, but hey, that’s fine with me.” He looked at me with an irreverent expression, very much unlike himself. “Now why would a beautiful girl like you be crying?”

I sniffed. Almost rolled my eyes at him. His tone was higher, sharper, much less serious and cracklier than his usual low voice. The nonchalant attitude and primary concern with women gave it all away. This wasn’t Steve anymore.

“Oh my gosh. You’re Johnny Storm, aren’t you?”

“That’s it,” he replied proudly. “What, have you heard of me?”

“What’s going on?” Natasha asked, her voice filled with worry. “Who are you talking to?”

I turned back to look at her quickly. “You’re kidding. You can’t hear him?”

Both Nat and Sam shook their heads emphatically. “He’s not saying anything. Or responding to this weird conversation,” the Falcon explained warily. “What, are you talking to him in your head like you did to the other guy?”

“Who’s Johnny Storm?” Nat continued to inquire hastily. I sighed.

“Another character played by Chris Evans, like Steve. It’s another _Marvel_ thing, actually. He’s got that skilled acting range, you know?”

She raised one eyebrow at me and Sam was totally perplexed.

“Who are you talking to?” Steve – no, Johnny – asked. He was eyeing me weirdly. I crossed my arms. I figured he couldn’t see Nat and Sam in the back. Because of course that’s how it was.

“Just keep driving and hurry up and turn back into Steve before I punch you.”

He laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I like you.”

I pouted all the way up until the moment when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Steve grip the steering wheel a bit tighter and blink a few times, like he had just come to himself. Because he had.

“Steve?”

He hesitated to respond. “…Why are you looking at me like that?”

I shook my head, placing my head on one of my hands, unwilling to even talk about it. I was just _so_ done being freaked out by everything. It needed to stop.

“Nat?”

“Apparently you turned into someone else, but only Sami could see you.”

“ _That_ , or she’s losing it on us.”

I turned back to shoot a glare at Sam, as he was not helping, but no one refuted it and I gave up. None of this was rational whatsoever, so he had a point. I was seeing things, feeling things that I couldn’t prove, and was lucky that everyone seemed to be taking my word for it. It was probable that I actually _was_ losing it.

I just hoped for everyone’s sake that Sam was wrong.

\---

It was a few months into Pepper’s pregnancy when I showed up at the facility by Tony’s request, with Peter close on my heels. I search for the woman frantically, checking every room because I’d been asked to check on her.

“Pepper?” I called out after about a minute of looking. There was no response, so I pushed my way into Tony and Pepper’s bedroom, seeing that it was seemingly empty, like everywhere else. I could have easily had a heart attack when the door next to me slammed open.

Pepper braced herself against the wall beside the bathroom, panting, and I could hear the sound of the toilet flushing.

“If you were feeling sympathy for Tony, that he had to go to the party by himself tonight, I do _not_ want to hear about it,” she warned, glaring at me. I just grinned, and Peter joined me at my side.

“It’s definitely clear who’s getting the sweet end of the deal, here,” I agreed. As we walked out of the room, slowly because of Pepper’s nausea, Peter lamented,

“Aw man, we were gonna suggest that we all get ice cream together, but Mr. Stark didn’t let on that you were feeling _this_ bad.”

I smirked as Pepper lay down on the couch longways, sighing. “Well, forget morning sickness. What I have lasts all day, now.” I bit my lip.

“Yeah… I think we should stick to saltine crackers for the night.”

Soon Pepper was rubbing her little bump and munching blankly on the crackers we’d provided, when her phone buzzed on the arm rest beside her. She answered it, seeing that it was a video call from Tony. Peter and I leaned over the back of the couch to peer down at her phone, as annoyingly as possible.

“How’s everything going?” he asked, smirking at us all as we glared.

“I’m fine, but I’m not happy about how you sent them over to watch me.”

“I did not send them for that,” Tony argued instantly. “I knew you were fine but I figured they didn’t have anything better to do.”

“Hey!” I fired back in a whiny voice. He snickered, but Pepper was not warming up to the idea.

“Honey, relax. I just didn’t want you to be alone tonight.”

She didn’t have a comeback, so I placed my hands on my hips and huffed. “Well, while you’re out doing whatever, we’re going to have a great night without you. I’m thinking classic movies and popcorn.”

“Sounds great. Save some for me – I don’t think I can take much more of this. It’s just a bunch of rich guys giving speeches about things they have no clue about.”

“Tony, that used to be _you_ ,” Pepper remarked matter-of-factly. Tony frowned at the camera.

“Gosh, did it? I’m glad somebody smacked me into the real world…”

“You’re welcome,” both Pepper and I said at the same time, and then laughed. I had meant it in a very sarcastic way, knowing that only Pepper had the right to say that. But she gave me a high-five anyways.

“No need to take credit for it, I plan on doing that myself.”

“Of _course_ you do…” I muttered.

“I gotta go, don’t forget the popcorn!”

“We’re going to have so much fun without you,” I answered stubbornly.

“Yeah, you‘re in for it later, Tony Stark,” Pepper warned. He just rolled his eyes at us and hung up the call. I pursed my lips and took that as my cue to warm up some popcorn and instruct Peter to find a relaxing movie.

All of this was abruptly stopped in the middle of a movie, when Peter turned to ask Pepper something next to him on the couch.

“Do you – wait, are you… are you crying?”

She sniffed and laughed tearily. “It’s the hormones,” she explained, trying to smile.

“Ohh…” Peter trailed off awkwardly. “Should we… should we change the movie? I don’t think “ _The Notebook_ ” really helps with that.”

Pepper laughed again, and I paused the movie, frowning. “Do you need to talk about it?” She took a breath, and gave in.

“I just… I keep thinking about what kind of life Ashton is going to have, and I’m not sure what it’s going to be. And that just doesn’t sit right. I don’t want him to be the weird kid whose dad is Iron Man, or put into danger, or have all these expectations… I want to give him a good life.”

“Hey,” I began softly. “You can’t worry about that. You gotta know that you and Tony will make great parents. And maybe there will be the occasional danger, but Tony would do anything to keep his family safe.”

“I know.”

With one look at Pepper, I knew that was the problem. She was worried about something happening to Tony. I sucked in a breath and looked as sympathetic as possible because I didn’t know how to comfort her. But to my surprise, Peter spoke up first.

“Well I don’t know what to say about that, but I do know that he will have a lot to look forward to. I mean, me and Sami? Coolest big brother and sister ever. I’m already planning trips to Disney with matching shirts and everything.”

Pepper finally smiled and I did, too, thinking about that happy thought of our future. I nodded and added, “Yeah, if you need someone to help Ashton be normal, we got you.”

“I’m sure Tony would never go for matching shirts,” she agreed thoughtfully.

“Says who?”

Tony was standing at the elevator to our floor, setting his suit jacket on the counter. He was dressed up but seemed to be switching to his at-home mode quickly. Pepper stood and approached him.

“You have a lot to make up for, mister.”

He raised his eyebrows, amused. “I take it you… didn’t have a great night? And where’s my popcorn?”

“You can have some after you make it up to me.” Tony just smirked, and I got all tingly which was the feeling that made me think it was about time Peter and I headed out. We shared a look and I could tell he felt the same way.

\---

“So, you and Peter are cute.”

I turned around in my seat to send Natasha a look. She shrugged innocently.

“What? Someone had to change the subject. I’m doing you all a favor.”

I faced the road again, crossing my arms, and she kept pressing. “How long have you two been dating?” I _really_ didn’t want to talk about it, but it was Natasha, so I was pretty scared not to answer.

“Uh, like… since last summer, I guess.”

“Wait, you and the web… kid?” I winced, but Nat cut him off before I could respond.

“Are you really _that_ oblivious? Even _Steve_ is catching on.” I looked at Steve, who smiled a little.

“I mean, they _did_ kiss before we left…”

I scowled loudly. “Come on!”

“What? We’re all rooting for you,” Natasha explained softly.

“Not me,” argued Sam. “I think you can do better than that little squirt.” I rolled my eyes even though he was smiling at me knowingly. I sighed, again.

“I do not need my relationships to be the topic of conversation right now, so if we could move on, that’d be _wonderful_.”

“I’m not dropping it,” she warned. “because you’re so cute when you get all flustered.” I blushed heavily and looked out the window, longing to be out there and away from this painful conversation. Within minutes, Steve pulled into a gas station off the highway, because we were close to empty and still had a ways to go. I was unanimously voted as the pumper, because I was the only one wearing normal clothes instead of an Avengers level super-suit.

I was not thinking very much as I held the nozzle up to the small car, full of heroes who waited for me to finish, but then I noticed something. A large brown van pulled into the gas station and up to another pump directly beside us. I kept watching because something about it felt… familiar. And then a brown-haired man stepped out and began to pump gas into it, just the same as me. I immediately recognized him and didn’t avert my gaze for a long time out of shock. I didn’t hesitate to knock on Steve’s window urgently. He rolled it down and looked up at me questioningly.

“Hey, uh, did you call Scott Lang?”

By this time, the man in question was clearly getting weirded out about how I’d been staring and pointing at him. Once I determined that Sam had called Scott, but never thought that he would get here so quickly, I approached him.

Scott was trying to look behind him when I started to walk closer to him, like he hadn’t noticed me looking and hoped to get away. But I kept going.

“Excuse me, are you Scott?”

“Um, yeah,” he replied slowly, swallowing. “Do I know you?”

“No,” I admitted. About this time, Steve, Sam, and Natasha decided to step out of our car and turn to face us, closing their car doors in a very expert way. “But I’m with the Avengers.”

Gosh, it was still such a cool thing to be able to say.

Scott’s light hazel eyes instantly lit up, and he shook my hand. “Yes, then I am Scott. Scott Lang.”

I grinned. “I’m Sami.”

He looked past me and saluted to the other three. “Hello Captain America, Falcon, and Black Widow. Nice, uh, to be working with you all again.”

Steve stepped up to us. “How did you get here so fast? Sam only called you yesterday, and you live in California, right?”

“Yeah… about that. I’m not entirely sure what has been going on over the past few days. Before you guys called… I just felt like we should head over here. It was this, like, gut feeling, so Hope and I left. Then I found out about all the aliens and I got your call… and here we are, I guess. At the… same gas station?”

He said the last part as a question, like he wasn’t sure of anything at all, and no one had a decent answer for him. I smirked.

“That’s crazy, but I believe it.”

Scott looked at me, smiled awkwardly, looked away, and then back again. “Sorry, but _how_ do you know each other?”

I deflected answering this question for the moment, because something hit me. My headache was only growing stronger, and I figured it was because of my power being restrained. Something was definitely going on with it. I considered my options, and guessed that if I took it off now, just for a little while, maybe I could look forward and see a bit of the future to help us out. That was all. Maybe I would see something important. Whatever happened, I had to try. I excused myself from the group and headed into the nasty gas station bathroom to change.

I bit my lip in pain when I had tried to put my hair in a ponytail but the sleeve of my suit had snagged on it and ripped out a strand. My eyes welled with hot, angry tears. It was like the tipping point for all my emotions, and as soon as I removed the last sleeve of the suit, I felt a rushing sensation, like my power had been freed. My headache instantly disappeared, and my hands and eyes glowed. I closed my eyes, feeling a vision coming on already.

_I was floating aimlessly. Asleep, unconscious, something. Just not awake. All I knew was floating. The endless expanse of outer space. The world beneath me._

_Wait… who was I?_

_I looked down and saw someone I knew. They were kneeling beside my motionless form, and there was a slow beeping that came from a heart monitor beside us. Tony was inconsolable._

_“You gotta pull through, Small Fry. There’s just so much you have to know. I know you can’t hear me, but I don’t think I could tell you this if you were awake. I was so wrong… and if you… before I got to tell you…”_

_He trailed off and watching Tony in this devastated state reminded me of all the things that were important._

_“I was wrong, kid. Perhaps the most wrong I’ve ever been in my life. I thought I was doing the hard thing, but that it was hard because it was right. I thought living in a world without you would be the hardest part, but really… it was how you looked at me after I—” He inhaled, stopping himself. “And I know Thanos is coming. I know he wants to do something that has a lot to do with you. I thought I could protect you from it by sending you away, but now I know you have to face it. And I just have this… this awful feeling that I can’t save you from it. I failed, and it won’t be the last time. I just wish… I wish you could hear this somehow. I know, that’s stupid to say. But you just gotta… know.”_

_Instead of ending here so I could process it, my vision just changed scenes. Suddenly I was standing face to face with Thanos, once again. He smiled at me. Like his plan had been completed. All of the Infinity Stones were in place on his gauntlet. My stomach churned._

_He snapped._

_I watched expectantly, needing to see what happened next. This was it, Thanos’ goal, so what happened?_

_“From this day forward, the universe will be tipped into balance. Those who are left will be grateful. And although half of the world as a sacrifice seems drastic, it is exactly what is required for the remnant to have adequate resources. A peaceful existence.”_

_What I saw next would haunt me forever._

_I saw the faces off all my friends over the past few years. Flashing right in front of me before disappearing. Starting with Peter. Sam. Bucky. T’Challa. Wanda. Ned. Hope. Strange. Even some that I knew of from movies but never had seen before, like the Guardians of the Galaxy. I frowned. What did this mean?_

_And then I saw it. One by one, I watched as all of them slowly faded away into dust. Confused, scared, unsure. Gone without explanation. And then there was Peter. Grasping Tony._

_“Mr. Stark, I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t… I don’t… I don’t wanna go, Mr. Stark, please. I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go… I’m sorry….”_

I opened my eyes and stood, gasping for breath. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. It hadn’t happened. Not… not _yet_. Oh no. I was panting, furiously wiping tears out of my eyes. I was unable to cope with what I had seen, but I had to go out there and face them with this new knowledge of what was in the cards.

Now I knew Thanos’ plan. What he was trying to accomplish.

I stepped out of the bathroom and into the silent gas station because I knew I couldn’t stay in there forever. We had to get to the compound. And I had to tell the team

The only noise in the whole store was one bored cashier ringing up someone’s chips with the quiet beeping of the scanner. I pretended like I hadn’t just witnessed the end of the world and scooted out of the building.

I approached the brown van, since the three Avengers had decided to carpool with Scott and Hope for the rest of the way and got in through one of the large sliding side doors. I would have laughed at the arrangement, since Hope was driving, Scott rode shotgun, Natasha sat in the seat beside me, and Steve and Sam sat on the floor in the back, but I was too distracted. Too at a loss for words.

“What happened?” Steve immediately asked, reading my speechless demeanor. I supposed my eyes were still red.

“I, um, saw what Thanos is going to do with the Stones.”

“…Which is?” Nat inquired in my hesitation. I took a deep, steadying breath.

“He wants to eliminate half of everyone in the world. And he can do it by snapping his fingers.”

\---

I was tired. Tired of waiting, tired of discussing, tired of talking. I desperately needed to shower, nap, and eat something, but I settled to just wash the smell of smoke and sweat off my body quickly. It felt beyond amazing to smell nice and not like I had spent the previous night under a bridge. What took the longest out of the whole process is when I stepped out of the tub and looked at my suit that was lying there. I stared at it for a long time, thinking over the promise I’d made to Tony.

I struggled. Wearing that suit had done me absolutely no good so far. It had prevented me from being able to fight and see an important piece of the future. Maybe Tony had wanted to keep me from exposing myself, but that idea would no longer help me. I had to find out exactly who I was.

I threw on a new outfit that consisted of a plain t-shirt, a hoodie, and cargo pants. I opened the door, stowed my suit back into my backpack, and looked up to see none other than Natasha Romanoff sitting on the edge of my bed, smirking at me.

“Nice room. I like the decorations. And the fairy lights are a nice touch.”

I smiled and crossed my arms. “Thanks. I like making things seem homey, you know?”

“It’s nice.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “But you didn’t come in here to admire my décor, did you?”

“Not _just_ that, no. I figured we’d both benefit from some woman talk. Mostly you, though.”

I could have smiled, except for knowing that she was going to make me tell her what was going on. She gestured for me to sit next to her on my old bed, and I crossed my legs, unable to express how pleased I was that she had said woman talk and not girl talk. I couldn’t really explain it, but the thought that Natasha considered me like that, unlike everyone else, made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

“So what did you see in the gas station, really? You wouldn’t talk to us, at all.” She was perceptive enough to know that something really bothered me, although I was hesitant to come right out with it.

“You can’t tell Steve.” I didn’t exactly know why I set this as a condition. I felt like if Steve knew about this, he’d feel the seriousness of this even more than before and take it all on himself to stop it. It would make it that much more real. He knew enough already.

“Of course. I wasn’t planning to bring back a report, you know. This stays between us.”

I nodded, and steeled myself for the discussion, but I still hesitated, so Nat pried.

“You saw Tony, didn’t you?”

I flinched. “… Was it that obvious?”

“You’re a wreck, Sami. It’s not hard to imagine what could do that to you.”

I chewed on the inside of my lip, blinking away tears angrily. I hated how emotional I was being. Now was not the time for glow-y hands. “I just… he wanted to send me back, Natasha. I couldn’t process it – I still haven’t. Tony thought he was helping me. But I’ve never been more scared of anything in my life. The thought of going back to my old world now… and I didn’t hate him for it, but I couldn’t look at him the same after — and then he…”

I was struggling to get it all out, so Natasha just asked quietly, “What did you see?”

“He was kneeling over me, when he thought I was going to die, almost crying. He was telling me how wrong he was, and why he did it, and how he felt like he couldn’t save me…” I got choked up and Natasha wasted no time in reaching over to hug me gently. She said nothing, though. It was actually more comforting than if she were to tell me it would all be okay, because I struggled to see how it could. When she pulled away, I sniffed and rubbed my face, trying to find some strength to keep talking.

“I don’t know how or why I saw that, but Tony said it was something he couldn’t tell me if I was awake… so I’m glad I did.”

“Yeah… I guess your weirdness can be helpful.”

I frowned, not even fazed by her comment. “After that, I saw Thanos. He snapped his fingers, talking about balancing the world, and that half of the world would have to make a sacrifice. And then… I saw my friends. A bunch of them. Natasha… they all faded away. Into dust.”

Natasha’s eyes were wide and contemplative. I could see the gears in her brain spinning rapidly. “Who did you see?”

I took several deep breaths before I was able to say it. If I thought I had stopped crying, well, that was inaccurate.

“Peter,” I whispered, closing my eyes. Nat was sympathetic. She rubbed my back.

“You know we’re going to stop at nothing to make sure he doesn’t get the Stones, right? There’s a little comfort in that, I guess. But I know seeing visions of the future doesn’t always make you feel positive.” She tried for a smile, and then sighed. “Just know that if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m here. Also, things seem to be picking up. I don’t mean to scare you, but you should get ready for a fight.”

I nodded, and attempted to look brave, even though I was shaking. She squeezed my hand one more time and then took her leave from my room, saying she would give me some time to think. But before I could, as if on cue, my cell phone buzzed, and I hurried to check it, seeing that it was a message from Peter.

_Don’t answer_

I was only confused by this request for a moment, because suddenly my phone started ringing, and it was Peter calling. I didn’t answer, as he had said. It was fine because I didn’t know how I could have talked to him, anyways. But then I saw the reason for his call. I had an unread voicemail.

“Uh, hey, I know you probably can’t talk right now and that’s fine, but I had to let you know. I know why you didn’t want me to come with you. Maybe it’s because you’re worried about me getting hurt, but I also know that you plan to… to sacrifice yourself. And I guess I can’t persuade you not to, but if you did it without me there at all… just let me know if anything serious happens, okay? I want to be there, with you. Maybe you didn’t want me to get hurt, but that would be… it’d be worse than anything, Sami. You don’t have to call me back. I just can’t lose you, too.”

_End of message._

I covered my mouth with my hands as the tears began to leak out of my eyes again. I focused on my breathing and thought really hard through all of my emotions. Was Peter right? I hadn’t thought about it… but did I really want to sacrifice myself? Is that why I didn’t want him with me? How would that help anything?

I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, ridding myself of all distractions because I needed to think this through. If I had to figure out what this power was, now was the moment.

Something about me was key to stopping Thanos. Was it because I could see the future? Or something else I could do? I started from the beginning, when I first noticed my power. Loki told me that my fate was to come to this universe and develop this power with the Avengers.

So, point number one. My power was unique to the _Marvel_ world and so much so that a random event happened to bring me to another dimension. Pretty crazy stuff already.

Then I thought about what it meant for me. Loki had also told me that I was mentioned in a prophecy in Asgard. And they had information about all sorts of cosmic powers. Thanos wanted me for something, so that was important.

Point number two. Whatever my destiny was, it was important and it was about to be fulfilled, either in a way that helped Thanos or not. I was obviously terrified.

Loki’s words about where my powers come from still rang in my ears. _Your very innermost being, whatever you’d like to call it. Heart, soul, whatever you think of when you think of your very center. That is where your power originates, and it is, I think, tied to your very life force. That’s where you reach into to access these powers. It is my guess that anything that affects you personally, that resonates deep within your emotions, that is when your power is the strongest._

I racked my brain. What could that mean? My powers came from my heart?

I backed up even further. What did Thanos want? The Infinity Stones, clearly. That was his only goal. I didn’t see any other way of stopping him besides preventing him from getting access to the Stones. So what did that have to do with me? How could I have _anything_ to do with keeping the Stones from him?

It was all so painful that I couldn’t figure it out, until it hit me.

We had so much information about literally all the Stones, except for one. One Stone still remained out there and we knew absolutely nothing about it.

_The Soul Stone._

Oh. My gosh.

My power came from my soul. That was it. That had to be the key. I didn’t know if it was possible, but somehow it made sense. Thanos wanted me… because I would complete his collection.

I looked at myself in the mirror and it was like all of my guessing was confirmed when my eyes flashed gold, like they were finally saying _yeah, you got it_. I could have started crying again, or passed out, or had a stroke, but my heart was racing harder than it ever had before, like I was for once onto something real.

I settled for yelling, “Steve! Nat! Sam!” and dashing as fast as I could out of my room and into the area where they were planning. All three pairs of eyes looked up at me with concern, and Steve stood at attention rapidly.

“What?”

I licked my lips and almost answered before I decided not to get their hopes up until I had some concrete proof. So I stepped over to the nearby hologram table and asked FRIDAY.

“Hey, do you have any information on the Soul Stone? Where it is, what it does, anything?”

“Nothing confirmed, no.”

I tapped my lip. “So you have stuff that _isn’t_ confirmed?”

“Yes. According to various ancient legends, the Soul Stone is thought to represent human emotion and enables the user to see glimpses of future events having to do with those they are connected to and the ability to change it if desired. The power was alleged to be so great, though, that it requires a sacrifice in order to be fully accessible.”

Nat and Sam were stunned speechless. I was… well, I didn’t exactly know how I was processing it. I just knew that this information was exactly the thing I was supposed to find out. It matched everything _perfectly_. Which was the scariest part.

Steve stuttered. “So the… the last Stone. It’s _you_?”

I hugged myself, not believing that I actually nodded to the captain. And then I pulled out my phone, dialing Peter’s number.

“Hey.” He sounded relieved to hear me. Not for long, I supposed.

“Hi. Um, I think I found something out that’s pretty important…”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! If you're reading this, I just want to say thank you. I really don't think anyone has made it very far, but if you have, I sincerely hope you're enjoying it. It's been a blast. Just a few more chapters! We're almost there. This has made me super happy even with the lack of comments.
> 
> Anyways, get ready. This is almost the end, guys. I'm dying to know what you think, but it makes me happy, nonetheless.

“Hey. Uh, so I know I’m not an expert about these Infinity Stones and stuff. Actually, I just found out about them this morning. But um, you don’t look like a Stone to me. You’re a person. Right?”

I shared Scott’s disbelief. That’s what didn’t make sense. I _was_ a person. A human person. And my power was inside me. So I frowned.

“I – I don’t know. Yeah, I am. It’s confusing. But I feel like… maybe my power can be drawn out of me and take the form of a Stone. Which is _weird_.”

Scott blinked at me. But I just straightened my posture and turned to Steve. “I think it’s time to call the others here. We have a lot to go over.”

“Like what?”

“Like… our plan of action. I mean, we know Thanos is coming here soon enough.”

“But what about you?” he asked, getting down the important question. I brushed this off.

“We’ll work that out, too.”

Steve let his gaze linger on me for a few more seconds, before he looked around to the others. “Can you give us a minute?”

The other four people in the room nodded and quietly left the area that had been used for discussion. My thoughtful attitude melted away, leaving me unable to meet Steve’s understanding eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he told me softly. “and I’m just gonna stop you before it gets too far. Sacrifice is not the only option. And I’ll try anything before letting it come to that.”

“What, and risk Thanos getting me? Every Stone he gets adds another range of power to what he can do, Steve. He’ll be that much harder to stop. I can’t let that happen, knowing that I…”

“But we have the Tesseract,” Steve pointed out. “We could destroy that, and it will be over for him.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know if it would work like that. What if Thanos gets the Time Stone, and all we’ve done is for nothing? He could go back and change everything. I’m just saying… this feels like the only sure way. All this talk about sacrifice, I mean, these are all clear signs. It’s not like I want to. But if you had seen what happens…”

I shuddered, and without even trying to, I was zoomed into another vision. If I had known it was coming, I would have complained, because I didn’t have time for all of these feelings.

_I was standing in front of Thanos, facing him down with bravery that I surely did not possess. He stepped up to me._

_“You’ve made the right decision. It is thanks to you that the multiverse is collapsing, but now you have the chance to fix it, once and for all. Giving in would prevent further unnecessary losses.”_

_“Who said I was giving in?” I responded. “That’s not the cool thing to do, surely. This is the endgame, now. Everyone has to pick a side. But ours has the advantage, I think. No offense.”_

_Before I could see what happened, the image rippled and when it came into view again, I saw holes in the dimension with things leaking through. Other fictional characters, like Spock and Harry Potter and Bilbo Baggins were wandering around New York. That wasn’t good. And also really strange. Random things were glitching left and right, and then looking down at myself, I realized that I was, as well. Worse than ever._

_And then the scene switched once more._

_Steve was left speechless over Vision’s lifeless, gray body. Natasha could hardly watch as she covered her mouth with her hand. Wakandans ran around desperately, searching for those lost. Tony sat, utterly alone, with dust covering his hands._

_And Thanos just smiled._

I opened my eyes, finding myself leaning against Steve for support, and gasped, standing up quickly. I panted from what I had just seen and had to steady myself against a nearby wall.

“Are you okay? What just happened? You… were transparent for a second.”

I swallowed worriedly. “Well, that’s not a good sign. It means the treatment isn’t working anymore.”

“And you would just disappear at some point?” I nodded solemnly. I racked my brain for what to say. I didn’t really have any more to my argument. I just needed Steve to agree with me. Time was clearly running out.

“Look, Steve. Just this morning Loki told me that I have to decide the fate of the universe. I… have to be proactive about this. If I don’t make up my mind now for whatever happens, I’m risking Thanos completing his plan. And that can’t happen. I don’t know for sure how it’s gonna go, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m gonna have to… to sacrifice myself before he gets me. Everything’s pointing to it. And if it comes to it, I _need_ you to be on my side about this. Because if we’re facing down Thanos, still arguing about what’s going to happen…”

Steve still wasn’t quite on board. I understood where he was coming from.

“I just… don’t think like that. I can’t just let you trade your life for the rest of the world. If there’s another way, then I’m going with that one, no matter what.”

I tried to smile but I couldn’t do it. Not all the way. So I just nodded. “Hey, it’s not like I want this. I just have to be prepared, I guess. And who knows? Maybe… maybe we can just destroy my power and it won’t affect me. I’ve never really tried this before.”

Steve actually smirked. “We have to talk about this self-sacrificial attitude. It’s not good. Sometimes I can really tell that you lived with Tony for two years.”

I smiled this time, and it was perhaps the saddest smile I’d ever expressed. I was quiet for a few moments, just thinking, before remarking, “You don’t have any reason to judge me, though. You’d be doing the same thing. All of you would, and don’t even try to deny it. It just… falls to me this time. It can’t be helped.”

Me and Steve talked like old friends, which we pretty much were, but there was an overwhelming sad tone that hung over our conversation because of what we were dealing with, and I could hardly take it. No one understood facing these types of things more than Steve, but it was clear that neither of us ever wanted it to come down to this, and the thought of letting everyone down stressed me out and made me that much more upset.

In reality, I was mainly struggling to make this decision because I knew how devastating my loss would be for Peter. That really sobered me up. I had to either save the world or save Peter, which… well, he was my world, anyways.

\---

(the night of my eighteenth birthday)

I had had a long day at school. It seemed to drag on forever, and that was something because I _liked_ school. But, I guessed when your birthday fell so close to the break and yet not on it that year, it was pretty disappointing. I hadn’t heard much from anyone all day, except for the few times I saw Peter at school, and even then he was quiet, besides telling me happy birthday. I didn’t mind – I never liked being the center of attention, not even on my birthday, so I was looking forward to a quiet night at the facility with Pepper and Tony.

“So what are you planning to do tonight?” Peter asked me over the phone, as I approached the facility for the evening.

“I don’t know, something relaxing, maybe have some kind of dinner with Pepper and Tony,” I replied thoughtlessly. “I’m actually really tired. I guess that once you reach adulthood your ultimate birthday dream is sleep.”

Peter laughed. “But that’s depressing! You should be having fun.”

“Well, not at this hour. There’s not enough time. Hey, but I had a good day, though. Maybe we can do something fun together this weekend.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Just then I exited the elevator on my personal floor and stepped out into the dark area, wondering why all the lights were off. “Tony? Are you in here?” I set my bag and keys down on the counter and searched for the light switch quickly. Once the lights came on, I was about to sigh but I was cut off.

“SURPRISE!”

I gasped and could have easily had a heart attack. My heart was pounding in fear but I was smiling hugely. I saw so many familiar faces smiling back at me that I almost started to cry.

“Guys!” I complained emotionally, trying to get a grip on myself. “You all scared the _crap_ out of me.”

Peter was laughing and pointing at me, like he’d pulled off the best prank in the world, which… he probably had. I had been so wrapped up in our phone conversation that I’d been distracted, and he’d been standing in here the whole time. Peter was surrounded by my other friends and family, complete with Tony, Pepper, May, Happy, Wanda, Vision, and even Rhodey. I was forced to cover my mouth with my hands, looking at all of those amazing people who had cared enough about me to do this.

“Happy birthday, Small Fry,” Tony said first, walking up and snapping a plastic party hat on my head. I instantly made a disappointed face just in time for Pepper to snap a picture of it, which made me end up laughing. The feeling in the room was just _warm_. That’s the only thing I felt. It was wrapped up in happiness and love and all kinds of gooey things.

Gosh, I was not going to make it through this night, was I?

We started by having cake, specially ordered with the words _Small Fry_ on it, courtesy of Tony who always seemed to want to get his nickname for me plastered wherever he could. After that Tony gave a really embarrassing speech about me turning eighteen.

“It seems like just yesterday, I was changing her diapers,” he began, meriting a sharp look from me. “Wait? Oh. That’s because it _was_ yesterday.”

A few people laughed but it was such an uncool joke that most of us just rolled our eyes at him. He went on and Peter seemed really amused.

“Kidding. No, but it does seem crazy that you’re already an adult. I guess you’re technically old enough to be your own person, and legally we’re no longer your parents. But you should know, kid, that this doesn’t change anything. Not for me, at least. You’ll always be our kid.”

My eyes got so glassy that it was like I was looking at him through a water bottle, so I angled my head down and tried to wipe them swiftly. I literally couldn’t take it. So I stood and hugged him tightly. Tony just exhaled a bit and hugged me back slightly, before pulling away and going on.

“But unfortunately you do have to move out tomorrow, so… enjoy living here while it lasts.”

I laughed again, sniffing, and my tears faded away. Tony was always good at drying up my tears by being a jerk.

Then we proceeded to presents, all of which I was so grateful for and were amazing, but the most important to mention was Peter’s. He handed me a small box, so I knew it had to be some sort of jewelry, and from it I pulled out a small silver bracelet. He was watching me expectantly and I felt awkward reacting to it in front of all these people, but I hoped he knew that I would let him know how much I really liked it later on when everyone was no longer watching.

I studied it. The bracelet had a few charms on it. In the center hung three charms that together read _S+P_. Besides this there were a few others that I noticed, like a book, and a coffee cup, and sunglasses, and a bunch of other stuff that represented me. Mixed in were sparkling jewels. My jaw dropped.

It was so cute, and thoughtful, and personal… I absolutely adored it.

Peter was smiling brightly, and probably blushing just as much as I was, as I exclaimed, “Wow! I love it, Peter. It’s perfect! Thank you.”

He nodded and seemed relieved that I was responding so positively. I guessed the little _S+P_ was a pretty big step for him. Did I mention I loved it?

“You’re welcome,” he answered softly.

However, this moment was cut off abruptly when everyone’s smirks were ignored by Tony, who stood in a very announcing way.

“Alright, enough with the gifts. I have one more to show you.”

I raised my eyebrows at him and followed him into the next room, complete with a television and couches. In the center sat a familiar birthday sight.

“You got me a karaoke machine?” I demanded excitedly. One side of his lips twitched upward knowingly, and I rushed over to get it started without wasting a second.

\---

I steadied myself even further, because as I looked at the holographic screens in front of me, which were practically meaningless to my eyes, something really started to eat at me. I had to try.

“FRIDAY, can you, uh… do you have any way to read life signs at the… um, building we crashed at yesterday? I know his suit wasn’t on him, but…”

“I can send out a scanner to the area,” the intelligence answered. “I will scan for any signs of life in the building that collapsed and let you know momentarily.”

“Okay. Okay, thanks.” My stomach dropped now, knowing that there was a way to know for sure, and something told me that I already knew the answer. Steve was leaning against a wall to left, and hearing this, he looked down and rubbed his forehead. I crossed my arms, like it held myself together.

“I, uh, could have prevented it.”

He shook his head. “Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true. Steve, I have these visions, and for a long time, I’ve seen – we saw what happens. I saw it happen, multiple times, in my sleep. And I just know if I had been paying attention, I would’ve realized… and I could’ve—”

He stood and stopped me by touching my shoulder gently. “Stop. Looking back at things like that doesn’t help anything. It’s hard but blaming yourself makes it even worse. I have experience with that. You can’t do that to yourself.”

I inhaled and nodded. He was right. I didn’t need to start that, not now. I would have to deal with the guilt later. For now I had to focus on stopping Thanos, because it was something I actually could change.

“Sami, the drone has detected no sign of life in the demolished building. I’m sorry.”

I was only slightly surprised that the AI had just _apologized_ because I was blinded by utter devastation. Deep down I had known that there wasn’t a chance of Tony being alive, as hard as it was to admit, but this just felt like the last piece of hope I held onto had been stomped on. I said nothing in response.

“Sami… I’m sorry,” Steve said quietly. I simply looked up, sniffing.

“I think I’m gonna step outside for a minute. You can bring the others back in here to talk. And call Strange, too.”

I had only been sitting outside on the bench for a few minutes, silently thinking to myself, trying anything to see if I could be prepared for what was coming, when the Bifrost came down from the sky, making my heart race. Because when it disappeared, the rainbow energy left Thor and Loki standing on the circle now carved into the lawn. They approached me, and I sat motionless, awaiting their news.

“Thanos already has the Aether,” Thor told me somberly, “and he is coming here next.”

It was one thing to guess what about to happen, but hearing it from Thor, god of thunder, gave the thought a whole new meaning. Now it had a level of… _this is happening_.

“Right. Well, the Tesseract’s inside. They’re going over the plan.”

Thor nodded and made his way through the door that I pointed to, but Loki lagged behind, turning to me quizzically.

“Which is?”

I sighed loudly. “I figured it out. We’re going to destroy my power so Thanos can’t get it. I’m the Soul Stone, somehow.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you finally realized it. I have no further details to share with you. And for the record, I… hope everything works out. Your decision will be especially hard to swallow if you lost your life in doing so.”

I raised my eyebrows at this shocking statement from none other than Loki. It scared me that even he didn’t know if it would kill me or not but knowing that I was making an impact on him felt nice. Really, _really_ strange, but nice.

I didn’t want to go in, yet. It’s not that I was still crying – I had gotten to a point where that was no longer an option, either because I had run out of tears or because I just couldn’t afford to have that many emotions anymore. However, while my eyes were dry, they were also glowing on and off, as well as my hands. My power was almost restless, growing stronger and more uncontrollable. Like it didn’t want to be inside me any longer.

Gosh, it really did all make sense to me now. It felt better to have a purpose, but knowing what this purpose was, I was terrified. Not necessarily because I didn’t know what was going to happen to me, but because there was no way of knowing that destroying this power could make much of a difference. Thanos was already wielding three Infinity Stones. And he was coming for three more.

I didn’t have time to stop it, being lost in my thoughts, and for the third time that day, I was sucked into yet another vision against my better judgment.

_“I use your weakness to my advantage. Your mistakes are my successes. You leave holes in the dimension wherever you go. One would think it would not be so easy to slip through them to find you, but here I am. It’s like a map, leading me straight to what I need.”_

_I couldn’t believe my ears. Thanos was using the tears in the multiverse to find me. How was that even possible? Was it really all because of me? He just smirked down at me, like a little ant in comparison to him._

_“The multiverse is collapsing. Colliding. And my cause will be the only light in the middle of the chaos.”_

_Suddenly I saw a slideshow of scenes of the future. I saw Wanda blasting the Stone in Vision’s forehead. They were both screaming in pain. Then I saw Thanos fighting Steve. He was lying on the ground, bruised, bloody, and grimy, with a shield that had been broken in two. Everyone else was beaten or simply moved out of the way. Then he was fighting Tony. His iron suit was covered in scrapes and his helmet had been smashed off. He pulled out a blade and struck with it, to stab Thanos, but the titan broke it off in motion and turned it, stabbing Tony in the side instead. He fell back, clutching his side and staring up at Thanos._

_“When I’m finished, half of the world will still be left. I hope they remember you.”_

_Then Tony’s arc reactor, the old one that Pepper had engraved to read “PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART”, was made into a floating memorial surrounded by flowers and pushed into a lake. I saw a crowd of heroes all standing solemnly at Tony’s memorial service, with the ones I knew best near the front, including Peter._

_“Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It’s Peter. We won, Mr. Stark. We won… You did it, sir. You did it. Tony…”_

_Then he was sitting, looking absolutely dejected with red, glassy eyes. “I just really miss him.”_

I came back to reality, shaking from this new vision, to hear someone calling me.

“Sami!”

I lifted my gaze and saw, across the way, a sparking, spiraling portal. I gasped and immediately my legs took off, bounding to meet the person who was also running at me.

“Peter!”

We met with a tight, abrupt hug. Peter squeezed me and picked me up off my feet for a split second before placing me back down. I was filled with so many surging emotions that it was good to have a nice one. We both pressed our faces into the other’s shoulder.

“I’m glad I’m here,” he said in my ear. I smiled.

“Me too. Sorry I was so dramatic before.”

I could feel and hear his radiant smirk. “It was a dramatic moment.”

“Yeah… well, I think I needed to clear my head a little. They really helped with that.”

“Good.” We ended our hug and Peter scratched the back of his neck.

“Strange, uh, filled me in on what we need to do.” I stared at him, glancing over his shoulder to see the doctor approaching us.

“He did?”

By this time, the others were around us and Strange was looking directly at me. I swallowed.

“Um, hey. I know what my power is, now. What do I win?” I said this in a very sarcastic way and only after did I realize that it was definitely something that Tony would have said.

“Not more information from me, that’s for certain.”

I gawked at him. “I’m _sorry?_ ” I asked angrily. He said nothing in reply, instead continuing to charge past me, turning his sights to the planning that was happening inside. I looked back at Peter, who shrugged.

“He was less cryptic about it to me.”

“What? So you know something I don’t?” When he stuttered to come out with it, I just huffed and dragged him inside. It was time to discuss what was actually going to happen, here, instead of letting it be decided for me.

\---

“Is this right? Am I doing the right thing?” I sidestepped the other heroes as they mulled over what we had planned to do, setting my eyes on Strange. He tried to look like he was missing what I was saying. “I just have to know if this is what I’m supposed to do. We… we have to destroy it, right?”

I fully expected him to be a jerk, but I wasn’t going to be okay with it. However, he merely nodded. It was like my whole body had been tight, and at the sight of his nod, most of the tension was released. Okay, I could handle that. It meant I was on the right track to the one ending where we stopped Thanos. I just had to keep it there.

I felt pretty good about our plan, too. It had a possibility to actually work. With the amount of heroes on our side, and some grit, it just might be pulled off.

Any sense of hope was dampened when something appeared outside on the lawn and Tony’s monitors began beeping off the hook. I rushed back outside to see who it was, who I knew it had to be.

“How did he get here? He doesn’t have the Tesseract.”

I looked back to see that Loki had said this, as all of us had stepped outside of the facility to get a view of him. My voice trembled as I spoke.

“He’s using the tears. The holes in the multiverse. Apparently they led him to me.”

“That isn’t good,” Scott remarked with wide eyes. I had to agree wholeheartedly. I thought deeply about what I was going to do, here. I was waiting for Thanos to attack, or do something, but he just stood there. Waiting. For me. And I knew I had to go out there.

Deep down I guessed I was afraid of dying, but at the same time, I knew what would happen if I didn’t try. And half of the world just _disappearing_ didn’t equate with my own life. One look back at Peter and I could see what he was thinking. On the outside he seemed brave but I could tell that he was not okay. I wanted so bad to assure him that I would be fine, or that I might end up fine, but I didn’t want to make that kind of promise.

I grabbed Tony’s red metallic sword out of my bag and gripped it. I closed my eyes for a second. Shifted my feet beneath me. Took a breath in through my nose and pushed it back out through my mouth. I could feel my power buzzing as if it knew something big was about to happen. I opened my eyes again and shoved all of the fearful feelings as far down into myself as I could. Strange, the leader of this plan, looked at me, expecting my answer.

“I’m going to talk to him.”

\---

I was holding onto the sword so tightly that my nails were starting to dig into the palm of my right hand. I was walking slowly, yet as fast as I could, up to Thanos, and my knees were certainly knocking, but somehow I kept going. For some reason my heart rate wasn’t as high as I would have thought it would be. I supposed that knowing that I had the Avengers following me at a distance made me feel secure in what I was about to do.

That wasn’t to say that seeing the three shimmering Stones in his gauntlet didn’t fill me with dread.

All of a sudden I was standing about fifteen feet away from my destiny. Like, literally. Thanos peered down at me with an amused expression, and my knuckles grew white around the sword.

“Sami,” he began. “I’ve been looking forward to this day. I’d hoped you would come to the smart decision, but given these defenses, I might have to persuade you. You should know that even if you feel insignificant, you matter greatly to my cause. You are very important. Imagine how grateful everyone will be for your sacrifice.”

I disliked how political he was being with his argument. It was unnerving. I never thought I’d hear Thanos try to be so persuasive, so _nice_ , to me. Gross.

“Yeah, right. They’re gonna be so grateful that I helped murder their families.”

“It isn’t murder. It’s sacrifice. I don’t look at the calamity of today – I look at the better possibilities for tomorrow. Stark understood that.”

Now I was angry. “He did not!” I fired back. “Tony never would have gone for killing billions of people under this delusion. _Don’t_ talk about him like that.”

Thanos cocked his head at me and pursed his lips. “I thought his loss would have inspired you to prevent further unnecessary casualties.”

My eyes flashed in rage, and I reared back. I had so much that I could have said about how wrong that was and how vengeful I felt, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. How could he be talking about losing Tony in such a nonchalant way, as if it was just an _unnecessary casualty_? And how would helping Thanos _prevent_ more?

“Yeah, well, it didn’t,” I finally replied quietly. “And this is not gonna work out like you think. You don’t have the advantage here. Not anymore. I have the Avengers with me. You’re not getting me. We’re going to stop you.”

The titan just smiled at this. “Your optimism is inspiring, but misplaced. And you will regret this decision. I’ll personally make sure of that.”

I shuddered in terror, but before I could think or respond, Strange shouted “ _Now_!” and I was thrust into phase two of our plan. The most important part.

Right on cue, Wanda, Thor, and Loki were at my side. The ones with the ability to shoot things with their power, of course. Their job was critical. The rest of the heroes stood farther away from me. Time began slowing down all around us. A circle of green light started to enclose us as Strange waved his hands around, using the Time Stone.

Doctor Strange was stopping time so that we could destroy the Soul Stone.

“This spell is complicated, and hard to sustain, so there’s no time to waste,” he told us through the strain.

I took a deep breath and nodded, beginning what we’d talked about. I placed both of my hands in front of my stomach and pushed. My power started seeping out of my hands into a small ball of energy between my open palms. I kept going until the golden power was glowing brighter than ever. Outside the green dome that surrounded us, I noticed that time was frozen in place, but I could still see the others. Thanos’ confused expression was stuck on his face, which was nice to see. Then I saw Peter. He was completely unmoving, and I knew he couldn’t see what was happening, but his eyes were full of tears as he looked on.

Soon, the action of drawing the power out of me began to be painful and looking down I noticed that a solid Stone had begun to form. I turned my eyes up at Wanda, Thor, and Loki, who were ready to blast it to smithereens.

“Do it now,” I said forcefully.

“But Sami—” Wanda protested. “I can’t…” I couldn’t let her go on.

“Don’t think about me. Just like we planned. You have to. Please. Everything’s gonna work out.”

At last she gave in and nodded, even though she was crying. Everyone was crying lately, and I was over it. I just wanted this to be over. Thanos had to lose. I was past being emotional about it.

Whatever it takes.

Thor’s eyes crackled with lightning and he pointed his axe, Stormbreaker, at me. Loki (somehow) used the Tesseract in his grasp and fired up a beam of energy. Wanda got her own red magic ready. The three of them shared a look and without hesitation, all three blasts hit their mark simultaneously.

I winced, but it didn’t actually hit _me_. The beams were focused on the Stone still floating between my hands. It didn’t take long, at all. It hurt in a way that didn’t exactly feel like pain. The energy given off by this was beyond anything I’d ever seen or felt before. And it didn’t take long for me to feel the Stone start to give way.

First it began to crack, and within a split second, it burst into pieces. The last thing I saw was an explosion of light and power, blasting everyone back.

\---

From Peter’s perspective, everything happened in less than a second. He knew exactly what was going on in there – Strange had told him everything because he wouldn’t let him rest until he had. They were destroying the Soul Stone, the thing that was tied to Sami’s existence. She went into the dome of magic, where Strange was using the Time Stone to stop time. For him it felt like nothing before there was an explosion, but he knew a lot had to have happened in there that he couldn’t see.

All of those who were anywhere near the explosion were blasted back by a sudden burst of a mixture of energies. Peter found himself lying on the ground, suddenly, coughing in the dust. As soon as his senses came back to him he darted up and to the area where Sami had been. In the open grass there was now a crater of dirt and burned grass. Something massive had definitely happened.

And Sami was nowhere to be found.

Peter scanned the area frantically but couldn’t see her anywhere. “Sami…” He crashed to his knees, not caring about anything else that was going on, and the others weren’t far behind him.

Thanos was indignant, and bellowed, “What did she _do_?”

“It is just us now, Thanos,” he heard Thor say loudly, confidently. “Surrender now and you will not have to battle the Avengers.”

Everything went quiet. Thanos said nothing. Peter’s spidey sense tingled all of a sudden, and he instantly stood and turned around from where he’d been hunched over.

“We need you to stay alert, Peter,” Rhodey told him as they all watched what was happening. With three earsplitting crashes, large alien towers plummeted to the ground, one after the other, making a triangle shape in front of them. As soon as they landed a long way off, the alien creatures began pouring out and sprinting right towards them.

The Avengers tensed up and shared nervous looks. Thanos smiled in satisfaction. Peter knew they weren’t going down easily, but this didn’t seem promising. Even if Thanos didn’t get all the Stones, it didn’t mean he still couldn’t have them all beaten to a pulp.

Peter looked behind him when he heard a strange noise, and his face lit up when he saw it. Their backup. Several orange sparking portals had been opened to the heroes’ backs, and help began to exit them. He saw many faces he recognized, such as T’Challa and various other Wakandan warriors, Bucky, Valkyrie and the other Asgardians, and even Bruce. Wait, it was the Hulk. But a little smaller, with Bruce’s facial features…

Oh. That was weird.

It was like clockwork, though. Everyone saw the threat, knew what they had to do, and lined up together for the fight. Peter felt marginally better about their chances, now, regardless of the fear.

“Well, this is fine,” Natasha muttered sarcastically from beside him. He inhaled as Steve took position in front of all of them, as the leader.

They had to win. For—

“For Sami!” Steve shouted clearly, starting to run forward to meet the aliens.

 _“For Sami!”_ the others yelled in chorus, and Peter got choked up while he began to follow Steve’s lead. Even those who didn’t know who Sami was had repeated the mantra, and it meant so much to him. So he would fight harder than he ever had before.

\---

I was asleep, or dreaming, or something, and it was nice. I was wrapped up, snuggled down in warm sheets. I was drinking a hot cup of cocoa. I had just gotten out of the shower. I was sitting on the couch reading a book after a long day. Whatever I was doing, it felt great and I didn’t want to stop. I forgot what had even been happening before this.

I was majorly disappointed when I could actually feel my body again and the nice sensations faded, leaving me feeling cold and alone. The first thing I noticed was that I was lying in some sort of liquid. Maybe water. It felt weird and gross. And when I opened my eyes I saw nothing familiar. The world before me was a golden color, like the sky just before the sun goes down, but there was no sun or anything I recognized at all. I stood up and blinked a few times. I wasn’t wet anymore, which was _weird_.

This place was making me feel all sorts of strange things and I wanted to leave. Suddenly, shimmering, transparent figures came into view in front of me, and I gasped.

“Peter?”

He was just standing there, gray and see-through, like a ghost, and his face was expressionless. I approached the figure timidly, waving my hand in front of him. I was starting to have a panic attack. This was all too odd and I didn’t understand it and what was this place and _was I dead?_

“Uh, he’s not going to wave back. None of them are. I’ve already tried that, kid.”

I noticed for the first time that there were multiple ghost-things, all in the form of my friends, but it didn’t sink in all the way with me because I spun to see someone standing there, completely shocking me.

“Tony?” I asked quickly, and he almost smiled. He had no time to reply before I crashed into him, not even crying anymore, just breathing heavily.

“What the heck is going on?” I demanded, and I could feel him shrug.

“Shoot me if _I_ know.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!! I finally posted again. I'm SO terribly sorry for the wait for those of you who are following. I got caught up with a bunch of stuff, but I'm back on track, now, and look! Only two more chapters to go. I can't believe it. Enjoy the almost-ending.

I was concerned. I was very, very concerned. Because either we were both dead, or neither of us were, or something _weird_ was happening here. 

I hated when my life couldn’t be normal. It just made it so difficult. 

“Tony, you were… you—” 

“I know,” he cut me off kindly, sparing me from having to say it. “Yeah, I know. I woke up here, for some reason.” 

“Is this some kind of dream?” 

“Well, if it is, it’s lasted about twenty-four hours now. I’ve been alone in here with nothing eventful to do except look at those creepy ghosts of my friends.” 

I frowned at him. “What _is_ this place? And how come you and I aren’t see-through, like them?” 

Tony crossed his arms. “There _has_ to be some sort of correlation here.” As I racked my brain for a solution, he shifted around uncomfortably, and I knew what was bothering him, so I sighed and came out with it. 

“I don’t know for sure if I died. They destroyed the Stone. It exploded, and after that I blacked out. No one ever really knew if it would… what it would do to me.” 

Tony seemed disappointed. Not surprised, just disappointed. “And therein lies the problem. You didn’t stop to think about what it would do to you, yet again.” 

I was unfazed by this. I had figured it would bother him. “It wouldn’t have stopped _you_. It was for the whole world. Tony, Thanos was going to snap half of the world into oblivion.” 

This stopped him in his tracks and I was smug about it, finally knowing something that he hadn’t known. “Like, with the Stones? That’s his goal? I bet he monologued you about it.” 

I nodded. “Uh huh. And—” I cut myself off all of a sudden when something hit me. I had seen who was going to be lost if Thanos had succeeded. People who mattered to me. 

I spun around and saw them. All of them. 

_Peter_. 

The ghostish figures began to make sense in an unnerving way. “Tony…” I started, never taking my eyes off of Peter, who stared lifelessly ahead. “I think they… I think it’s because they would actually come here if Thanos snapped. This must be where they would go after they disappear.” 

This got his attention, and he stood next to me, looking extremely concerned about who in particular I was looking at. “Well, that’s really not good.” 

\--- 

Peter wanted to say that things were going relatively well, but he couldn’t exactly tell. It was too much of a struggle keeping his head above water. If he wasn’t fighting off one of the powerful space dog things, which took every ounce of his strength matched with his intuitive super suit to do, he was helping someone else do the same. Or getting help, himself. It was very much a back-and-forth deal, and it worried him. 

Because their focus needed to be on Thanos, and it wasn’t. 

Strange was doing the most out of all of them, and rightfully so, since he definitely had the most important Stone. Sure, if Thanos got the Tesseract he could teleport, but if he got the Time Stone… he could go back to whenever he wanted, and all of their work would be for nothing. Futile. And the thought made Peter sick to his stomach. 

That could _not_ happen. 

“We have to get the Gauntlet off!” Steve said through the chaos, over the comms in their ears. Peter agreed, but he didn’t see how that was going to be possible for a long while. 

“We can’t do that if we don’t have some sort of plan,” Natasha responded logically. 

“Here’s a plan – if you can, attack him. We’ll never get anywhere if we don’t try something.” 

Rhodey’s rational words must have shaken the heroes to attention, because the mood shifted and he heard Wanda reply, “On it.” 

Peter watched her begin storming up to Thanos bravely, with glowing red eyes, and he was so caught up in trying to get over there to help that he didn’t realize the ship was now raining fire down on them. 

He felt it coming. He really did. But it happened so fast that he only had time to look up, see the missiles coming down, and cower into a tight ball, helplessly. Waiting, hoping that his suit held up somehow. He heard a _whoosh_ , though, and supposed that what happened over him must have looked like one of those cool slow-mo scenes in action movies. 

Captain America had jumped over Peter, stretched out his shield just in time, and landed next to him, bracing for impact and covering them both from the blast. It rocked him, but they were both unharmed. And even though Peter knew what had to have happened, he only dared to relax his arms and look up after he took several deep breaths. 

Steve had stretched out his grimy hand to help him up. 

“Thanks, man,” Peter said in a soft, breathy voice, trying not to show how shaken up he was. It was strange to think that that had just happened and here he was, still fine. 

“My duty to take care of Sami carries over to you now, I guess.” Peter saw a hint of a smile from the captain before the fleeting moment of peace was over and they had to run back into the fight. 

\--- 

(back to my party) 

Yeah, I was normally very shy and self-conscious about singing in front of other people, but stinking heck, it was my birthday, for crying out loud, and no one else was jumping at the bit to do it. Plus, they had _Chicago_ songs, so it wasn’t my fault. 

After doing a few songs alone, I wanted to get Peter to duet with me or something, but he wasn’t feeling it and I wasn’t the type to embarrass him with my weirdness. As I looked around, everyone was either watching me in amusement or was trying to find something else to do at the quiet party. So I figured we needed something entertaining. 

“Tony. Come on. Do one with me.” 

There was no hesitation in his response. He shook his head. “No. I’m fine without all that.” 

“Please?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“It’s nice! Just this one. I have such a great song.” 

“No. Maybe if we had drinks at this party I would be more open to it… but you won’t catch me doing karaoke _sober_.” 

I scowled. “I literally do not care. It’s my birthday, Tony.” 

“That’s not a legitimate incentive for me to do anything. I was the one who bought this for you.” 

I narrowed my eyes at him as he smirked. “Remember that one time you told me that I was supposed to make you have some fun with me when you were being too lame? This is definitely one of those times.” 

“This is not what I meant, Small Fry—” 

“Well, I’m not letting this go so just get it over with. Besides, Robert Downey Jr. has serious chops. So you clearly do, too.” 

He rubbed his face, knowing that he had lost. “You know I can’t resist that kind of challenge.” 

I grinned. “Come on! It’ll be great.” 

As soon as I found the song I’d been looking for, Tony was incredulous. “No. Anything but this one. It’s way too far to the right on the sappy spectrum, kid.” 

“Hey, _Foreigner_ is great!” 

“Not this one.” He was angry, but I was ignoring him, and before anything else could happen it began playing. He tried to protest some more, however he faltered in defeat as I took the first verse. 

_I gotta take a little time_

_A little time to think things over_

_I better read between the lines_

_In case I need it when I’m older_

After this I gestured to Tony, who rolled his eyes as I wiggled my eyebrows at him excitedly. I was already getting a kick out of this, but it got even better when he actually started to sing. It got the attention of everyone else, and I noticed that all our friends started watching us closely. 

_Now this mountain I must climb_

_Feels like the world upon my shoulders_

_Through the clouds I see love shine_

_It keeps me warm as life grows colder_

I had never seen Tony so contemptuous about anything before. He was seriously scowling as he reluctantly sang and got even more aggravated when he saw how giddy I was. 

“This is the stupidest thing…” he murmured. I just reached out to him dramatically, suggesting that we sing the next part together. It was already going so well. 

_In my life_

_There’s been heartache and pain_

_I don’t know if I can face it again_

_Can’t stop now_

_I’ve traveled so far_

_To change this lonely life_

_I wanna know what love is_

_And I want you to show me_

_I want to feel what love is_

_I know you can show me_

It was such a stupidly sappy song, I had to admit, but it was so much fun to sing. Partly because I just enjoyed the karaoke part, and mostly because it was annoying Tony. After this, though, he was done. I was just glad that he had participated for this long. Pepper clapped for him sarcastically, and he rolled his eyes again, leaving the microphone on a nearby sofa. 

But the song kept going. I was about to sing the rest by myself, because it would be a waste to stop now. However, someone else cut in after the third verse, singing loudly. 

It was Peter, and he gestured for everyone to join in. 

I was smiling uncontrollably as the others slowly began to sing along, because in theory it was weird but as it actually happened, it was a great feeling. Some were singer louder than others, but all of them eventually joined in and it was one of those moments that I never thought would happen and that I would never forget. 

It definitely wouldn’t have happened in a _Marvel_ movie, but it happened for me. 

“I don’t see how you got a single solitary ounce of enjoyment out of that. That was _painful_.” I just smiled at Tony. 

“You know why. I wanted the memory. And listen, your voice is _great_. I was right.” 

“I don't wanna talk about it.” 

\--- 

_A little girl was lying on her bed, getting all tucked in for the night. She had brown hair and brown eyes, and when the man doing the tucking came into view, it all made sense._

_“You all done with that?” Tony asked._

_“Yeah,” she replied quietly. He snatched her popsicle stick and licked the remaining bit off_ _, smiling._

_“Now you are.” He wrapped his thumb in his long shirt sleeve. “Here, wipe.” He wiped her mouth off gently and then smoothed her hair out of her face. “Good. That face… goes there.”_ _P_ _lac_ _ing_ _the palm of his hand over her face_ _, he_ _pushed it down onto her pillow._

_“Tell me a story,” she asked_ _instantly_ _._

_“A story… uh, once upon a time,_ _Morguna_ _went to bed_ _. T_ _he end.”_

_“That is a horrible story.”_

_“Come on, that’s your favorite story!” She pouted at him but he simply leaned forward to kiss her forehead._

_“Love you tons.”_

_“I love you three thousand.”_

_He stopped. “Wow,” he whispered. Tony got up and headed for the door. “Three thousand… that’s crazy. Now go to bed or I’ll sell all your toys.”_

_The little giggled to herself as the light went off and she drifted off to sleep._

I frowned at Tony after my latest vision ended. He cocked an eyebrow at me, as I had told him what happened in my other ones. 

“Who died this time?” 

“No one… nothing bad happened at all.” 

“Who did you see?” 

I shook my head, like I was going crazy. “It was you, and this little girl. Maybe four years old. She was… definitely your daughter.” 

Tony stared at me. “Okay, so your mind is making up things, now. Cool. Now we know. You’re not seeing the future because I don’t think I can convince Pepper to have another kid—” 

“No, you don’t understand. I think… I think all of what I’m seeing would have happened. It would have been the future, maybe in the movies, if – if I hadn’t come here. Thanos would have snapped, and you guys would have found a way to reverse it.” 

He made a judgmental face. “What, so now that you’re here, everything is messed up? I already knew that, Small Fry.” 

I rolled my eyes. “I think I have to do something to end it, once and for all. There’s something about this place… it all makes me think that it’s up to me to fix everything.” 

“How? Do you expect to just snap your fingers and—” Tony stopped abruptly when he something seemed to hit him. “Oh, you definitely have to go in there.” 

“In where?” He pointed to something behind my right shoulder. I spun and asked myself the same question he asked me. 

“That. How have you not noticed it yet?” 

He pointed to some sort of gazebo, with what seemed to be a podium in the center, and the whole structure was surrounded by shifting, flowing golden energy. I stared at it for a long time, before remarking, 

“It’s literally _glowing_. Like it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.” 

Tony crossed his arms. “Yeah, there’s some sort of book in there. I tried to walk up to it but of course I couldn’t get past the magic glow-y stuff.” 

I smirked. “Of course. Wow, then it’s definitely meant for me.” 

“Gosh, we need to hurry up and get out of this place or I’m gonna lose it. Your life is so weird.” 

“You made it weird!” 

He pointed at me. “Wrong. Apparently _fate_ did.” 

“Yeah,” I relented. “That’s stupid.” 

I looked toward the place that held the book. “So, I guess I need to write something. That’s the last thing left to do with my power. Why I came to this… this Soul World. I have to write down what happens next.” 

“Sounds good to me. Make sure you write that Thanos dies. That about does it for me.” 

I nodded. “Do you think… will it actually come true?” 

“Well, you have to believe it, right? And be, what, emotionally moved, or something?” 

I thought about it. “Yeah. Yeah… I see why it’s me doing this, then. I was emotionally attached to all of you before you even _existed_ . Imagine how much worse it is _now_.” 

“I’m never going to get used to hearing that.” 

I smirked. “What do you think will happen, though, after…?” 

“Couldn’t say. But we should be prepared in case there’s no coming back out of there.” 

I didn’t know what came over me, and I wasn’t ready for it at all, but my eyes suddenly began to water and I got this heavy feeling weighing over my chest. I guessed it was because it hit me that this was the last time I’d be seeing Tony. 

He must have read this in my face, because he said nothing, knowing the seriousness of all this, and pulled me in for a hug. 

“I know, kid. I know. You’ll be okay.” 

I wanted to yell at him for making this promise, because he was dead. How could he know? But I knew he was doing what any father would have done – reassuring their kid. So I just leaned harder into him, wishing that it didn’t have to be like this. 

“I love you three thousand,” I whispered. Tony cocked his head at me. 

“Sorry?” 

“Your daughter said that in the vision. And it's… it’s what my family used to say to each other, all the time.” 

He almost smiled. “Can't say I’m surprised, kid. Everything comes full circle with you.” 

“I guess so.” 

“Go, uh, make the world a better place, okay?” He meant it literally, I supposed. 

I nodded and wiped my eyes. I was tired of being tough and wanted to let myself be scared for a change, but this had to be done. And it was on me, again. So, not knowing what was going to happen, I smiled at Tony one last time, and he smiled back. Both gestures were the bravest things we could have done in the moment. 

I looked at the swirling energy around the little podium. It seemed pretty important. I stuck my hand through it just to make sure nothing happened, and it worked. So I stepped into it, and up a few steps to get to the book on the podium. I inhaled. 

It was strange, but it felt like I was right where I needed to be. 

There was a pen placed conveniently next to the book, which was about a thousand years old, and it glowed when I opened it. 

I picked up the pen with my shaky hands, and I wanted to ask someone if I was going crazy. Because I was honestly about to write down what I wanted to happen in the universe and expected it to just come true. Well, I had to believe it. That was important. 

I was obviously going crazy. 

I exhaled out of my mouth and collected my thoughts. Focused. I immediately thought of so many things I wanted to write down, but I didn’t want to abuse this power. So I stuck with what absolutely had to happen for the world to continue on. Because it wasn’t, at the rate things were going. 

I steadied the pen in my hand and placed it down on the paper. 

_Thanos is defeated_ _and_ _is unable to_ _collect all of the Infinity Stones_ _. The Avengers_ _win the battle. There is no longer any threat to the multiverse. The holes are_ _fixed. Nothing else can escape through the multiverse. It won’t collide. Everything is stabilized._ _There are no lasting repercussions._

I hummed to myself, making sure I thought of everything. Then I remembered something else that was important to me. 

_Vision survives. The Mind Stone is returned to him, and everything is okay._

Everything is okay. I supposed that covered a lot. I racked my brain for anything else that needed to happen. It seemed like I had gotten all the important things. 

Except one, but I pushed it out of my brain because I didn’t see how it was possible. 

It still nagged at me, though. I didn’t see how I could let it go. 

“You okay in there, Small Fry?” 

I turned around after hearing Tony’s muffled voice, peering at me from outside the structure with a concerned expression. I simply nodded and gave him a thumbs up. 

Oh, boy. Was I really considering this? 

It was impossible. 

It was selfish. 

Was it? I hadn’t written anything that had to do with me. 

If I wrote this… could it actually… 

I felt like I was losing my mind, but at the same time I couldn’t _not_ try it. I had the power to change reality, and it was the pen that I held in my hand. I had to try. 

And if it didn’t happen, life would just go on. It probably wouldn’t hurt anything, right? 

I was going to do this not just for me, but for everyone else who needed him. Peter, Ashton, Pepper… 

I steeled myself, inhaling. This story was not over, yet. 

I placed the pen back onto the book and started moving it slowly, as my lip started to quiver. All I wrote was two words. 

_Tony lives._

I put the pen down and closed my eyes, like I was waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. I had no idea how this was supposed to work. How did I make all of this happen? Did I need to, like, sign it? 

_Thisisweirdthisisweirdthisisweird…_

I didn’t hesitate to sign my name below the writing, but it didn’t feel right and of course, nothing happened. Of course. What did I have to do, a ritual dance or recite a chant? Because I refused. That was taking things a bit too far. 

Then it hit me. 

To use all of the Stones, Thanos had to snap his fingers. 

And Tony had just asked if I thought I could do it just by snapping my own. 

Huh. Well, it was worth a try, and it seemed more likely than anything else I could have done. 

“Here goes nothing,” I muttered to myself, closing my eyes. Time seemed to slow down again. My heart was about to race right out of my chest. All I could hear was myself taking a few breaths before I raised my hand, placed my middle finger down on my thumb, and… 

_Snapped._

\--- 

Peter supposed that their plan was to all pile on top of Thanos whenever they could and give him as little time as possible to breathe, which was the best chance of any to get the gauntlet off. He was currently pulling as hard as he could against the titan, with his webs attached to the golden glove, and holding on with both hands. 

He fought for a grip and moved his feet rapidly to hold his strong stance. Falcon and Rhodey were shooting from above, Strange was pulling on his other arm tightly with his sorcery, and Wanda was holding him steady with her red magic. All of them winced from the strain, but the forces were at a stand-still which was a good sign. 

Peter could feel the gauntlet starting to slip off. He quickly added more webs and found strength to keep pulling even harder. 

“Guys, it’s coming! Just a little more!” 

Thanos groaned in frustration, pulling against all of them, but Peter held onto the hope that they could do it. All it would take was a bit more grit, and the gauntlet would be off. It was slipping farther, and farther— 

All of a sudden a blast of energy hit out of nowhere, shaking the very ground where they stood in a huge ripple of golden power. The heroes as well as Thanos were all taken down by the force of it and were left on the ground with the wind knocked out of them, wondering what had happened. 

Peter was coughing and struggled to get his breath behind his metal mask. He removed it and panted as he sat up. He’d been so focused on pulling on the gauntlet that he had not been prepared to be blasted back into the ground. 

He blinked and looked around him. He was now a long way from where Thanos had gotten back up, and he could see others stirring back into action, too. Peter didn’t hesitate to stand, trying to figure out what had just happened, when one of the alien creatures began running straight for him. 

In his dazed state, he flailed for a defensive maneuver, but he had little time to get into position to attack the creature at the rate it was gaining on him. Really, he just braced for impact and would have to figure out how to defend himself after the fact. 

Before anything happened, though, he heard something fire up from behind him and within nanoseconds the alien creature was immobilized, being hit by a beam of powerful energy and taken to the ground. 

Peter recognized the sound of the thruster firing up. It was all too familiar. He immediately turned on his heels with wide eyes. 

“… Tony?” 

“Hey, Pete.” 

He couldn’t believe it. His heart swelled with both disbelief and complete gladness when he saw the man in shining red and gold armor standing in front of him, looking at him with emotional eyes. He had the feeling that the two of them felt the same way in that moment. This time, Peter didn’t wait for Tony to hug him first. 

Their metal suits clanked together with the impact of Peter’s sudden embrace. Their arms wrapped around each other and neither of them spoke. He just sighed and was grateful that he could close his eyes and pretend that everything was fine in the middle of all the explosions and the fighting. 

“Mr. Stark,” he croaked, finally letting go. His breath caught in his throat when he had to say it. “We… we thought you were—” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I know. I was. But, I’m not anymore.” 

Peter furrowed his brow. “What – what happened?” 

Tony pressed his lips together. “Sami brought me back. As far as I can tell.” His jaw dropped. 

“ _What_? You saw her?” 

The genius ignored this question. “She disappeared, right, and she hasn’t been back?” 

Peter shook his head grimly. “No…” 

“Then what’s our play?” Tony had switched his attention to helping the other beat Thanos, and Peter followed his lead. 

“We’re trying to get the gauntlet off.” 

“Alright, let’s do it.” 

In the middle of all the chaos, Thanos had spotted Tony, and he went still. “Stark…” This one word stopped the others from fighting him, and they all turned to see their friend standing there, eyeing the titan. 

“You know me?” 

“I thought you were dead.” 

“Yeah, well, I’m all kinds of stubborn.” 

Thanos smirked. “That makes no difference to me. I don’t desire any unnecessary casualties.” 

“Then I suggest you back down, now. You’ve already lost,” Doctor Strange spoke up loudly to tell Thanos. “The Soul Stone has already been destroyed.” 

Just then, the red Stone on his gauntlet glowed. “That’s where you’re wrong. Now reality can be whatever I want it to be.” 

A red glimmer spread over their surroundings in a circle, and in the crater where Sami had disappeared stood a figure, having just appeared, and was calling out for Peter. He started barreling over to her, as fast as his feet could carry him, yelling, “Sami!” but he stopped in his tracks when Tony grabbed him by the shoulders. 

“Peter, stop. It’s not real. He’s changing reality. She’s not really back.” 

Peter stopped struggling against Tony’s hold and crumbled to his knees. It was too much, all too much… 

“I’m sorry, kid.” Tony’s regret was sincere, but Peter turned his anger on Thanos. 

“He’s gotta go down.” 

All of the Avengers snapped back to attention, and for the first time, he realized that the creatures hadn’t been anywhere near them. It was because a new fleet was approaching them quickly from behind Thanos. So the superhumans simply lined up, facing the enemy, ready to charge once more, with a renewed sense of responsibility. Peter, for one, was relieved to have Tony standing beside him at last, even though he was entirely sure of nothing. 

But right before they could attack, or do anything, Thanos faltered. He had been about to step toward them when he stopped and looked down, as if something had knocked the wind out of him. So no one moved, and the silence cut into them all as they watched to see what would happen. 

Finally Thanos looked up, with a confused, disbelieving expression. “What did she _do_?” he hollered in rage, staggering for footing. 

None of them were able to say anything in anticipation for something to happen, and it had to be something big for Thanos to react in such a way. Peter raised his eyebrows and shared a look with Tony, as they seemed to be thinking the same thing. 

He did a double-take when he saw that the alien creatures were no longer there, running at them. No sign of the space dogs was left. 

And almost as quickly as the sensation had come upon Thanos, it faded, along with his body. Peter watched him intensely while it broke apart, atom by atom, each bit glowing a light blue color before disappearing completely. It all happened so fast, and the last thing he saw was Thanos’ outraged expression. But then he was gone. 

_Gone._

Just, gone. 

All that remained was the gauntlet, still carrying the Stones. “What the heck just happened?” someone demanded, but Peter wasn’t paying attention to who it had been. He may as well have asked it himself. 

“It was Sami,” Strange announced, warranting all of their confused gazes. The only one who seemed to know what was going on was Tony, who continued for the magic doctor. 

“She wrote something about the multiverse thing. She said Thanos had been using the holes to slip through. He had the virus in him, too. So when she fixed things… the singularities went away with everything else.” 

Strange merely nodded somberly. Peter grabbed Tony’s arm, so that he could lock eyes with him. 

“You mean that’s why she disappeared? She… she…” 

“She didn’t write anything about herself,” he replied harshly, like he was cursing. “Just like any daughter of mine wouldn’t have.” He scowled and looked away angrily, and Peter wanted to tell him not to blame himself but couldn’t bring himself to say anything more. 

After that, none of them knew what to do. There was no more threat. It had just disappeared. Most of them felt victorious, but those who knew Sami felt a gaping hole. Something was still lacking. 

Some had wounds to deal with and were taking time to rest. Others merely stood there still in shock. 

Peter found himself walking back over to where she had disappeared and sank back to his knees. He wasn’t crying, exactly. He just sat there quietly, staring at the ground. He couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to. 

Sami had singlehandedly defeated Thanos, in some magical way that he couldn’t understand, and yet had lost everything. 

And Peter had lost her. 

When he looked over to the left after a few minutes of trying to figure out what to do, he saw Tony sit beside him on the ground, like he’d had a really long day and was taking a break. His face was emotionless, as well. Peter supposed they just needed time to process this. 

But then he noticed something else. Beside Tony, T’Challa had knelt to the ground, facing the spot where Sami had sacrificed herself. 

Bucky followed suit. 

Then Sam. 

And Natasha. 

Steve. 

Clint. 

Wanda. 

Thor. 

Loki. 

Doctor Strange. 

Rhodey. 

Bruce. 

Hope. 

Shuri. 

Various other Asgardian and Wakandan warriors. 

All of them were kneeling to respect Sami’s sacrifice. Peter blinked away tears and bit his lip. He didn’t know how he was going to get through this. Tony wrapped his arm around his shoulder solemnly. 

The sad, quiet moment was interrupted only when Scott came running up. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark – Tony – Iron Man,” he stammered. “I, uh, think you should come see this. Was there some sort of tracker in Sami? Because it’s going off the hook, and I think I know what’s going on.” 

Scott led Tony and Peter inside the lab and showed them how there was a loud beeping coming from one of the screens, flashing a picture of Sami and blaring the words “LOCATION UNAVAILABLE” repeatedly. Peter didn’t get it. 

“Well, of course it’s not available,” he commented. “She _disappeared_.” 

“But if that’s the case, then it would have gone offline completely,” Tony corrected him and Peter could see the gears in his head spinning rapidly. “The fact that it’s still giving a reading means she’s still… somewhere.” 

“But where?” the teenager asked hurriedly, because he did not appreciate being given information like this without a real solution. 

“I think we should check the Quantum Realm.” 

Both of them stared at Scott like he was crazy. He went on before they could question him. 

“Sorry. Just hear me out. We saw Thanos break apart into millions of particles, right? So the same thing probably happened to Sami. We can rule out finding her in any universe since she isn’t in a physical location anymore. She… well, I mean, she clearly doesn’t have a body. But my guess is that she’s _between_ universes, which is where the Quantum Realm comes in. It’s a really weird place where time and space are all screwy. And it’s possible that that’s where her atoms ended up. To get there you have to be _extremely_ small. And—” 

“Wait. So you think one of us can go in there and bring her back? How would that work if she doesn’t even have a body?” 

“Well, she’d have to have a consciousness. Which is… really weird. But I’m hypothesizing that if you can talk to her, you could get her to materialize long enough to inject her with a stabilizing agent and get her out. I have enough Pym particles to do that in my van. Any other medical stuff would have to happen out here.” 

Tony looked lost in thought. “That’s _crazy_. But I have a stabilizing agent. So it’s worth a shot. Also, who are you?” 

\--- 

I was floating. Floating, weightless, flying, dreaming. I could see the multiverse. It looked like a galaxy of shimmering, blinking stars. They reflected in my eyes. It was the most beautiful, calming thing I’d ever seen. Everything was quiet. I didn’t know what had happened, but I felt like it was all okay. 

I didn’t have a body, which made me feel like I should have been concerned, but it was such a freeing feeling out there with all the stars that I didn’t really care. 

I tried to think about my life, but I couldn’t remember much. I couldn’t remember anything. What was my name? It was right on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t know. Did it bother me, though? 

I didn’t think so. 

Wait… who was I? Something really important just happened, _that_ I knew. But now all I felt was freedom, floating. Anything else didn’t seem to matter. I saw the multiverse, so pretty and welcoming, and I wanted to go to it so badly. That’s where I belonged. 

Belonged? Where _did_ I belong? 

Not here. I had come from somewhere. But that was okay, because I didn’t want to leave. I liked being free. And the stars were calling me… 

“Sami.” 

Sami. That was my name. They definitely were calling me, so I listened. “Sami, it’s Tony.” 

_Tony._

I knew that name. It was someone I knew, but I couldn’t place it. 

“I don’t even know if you can hear me, but if you can, I need you to come back to us, Small Fry. It’s really important.” 

His voice echoed in my mind, being very far away, and I tried to process his words. Instead I saw flashes of people I knew. A man with dark brown hair and wrinkles around his mouth with he smiled at me, calling me Small Fry. A woman with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes looked at me approvingly. A teenager with wavy brown hair and a sheepish, closed-mouthed smile. 

I knew them. I wanted to remember, but I couldn’t. 

“I don’t know where you are, or what you might be thinking at this point… but we all need you to come back. This is all really new for me, and if you can just… if you can somehow materialize, I can do everything else for you. You’ll be okay. You’ll be home. It’s our last shot, kid.” 

_Home._ That word also stuck with me. I didn’t know where my home was. It didn’t feel right. I wanted to find the man who was talking to me to figure out where I was supposed to be, but I had no clue how. The expanse in front of me was so big, I didn’t see how I would ever find anyone here. 

For the first time, I felt alone. I was surrounded by nothing. I had no form, and I felt scared. I was drowning in the nothing, and I didn’t know how to escape. I needed to go home but I didn’t know where that was and— 

“I love you three thousand.” 

I knew exactly who that was. It was my dad’s voice. He used to always say that to me. Suddenly I remembered my life. My old life, with my old family, growing up and learning about the Avengers, who became my new family. 

I had to get back to them. I followed my dad’s voice, which was so clearly replaying itself in my brain, and I had never wanted to see someone again so badly in my life. I focused on my body and soon felt myself piecing back together. All of a sudden, I was back in my body. The floating was no longer my reality and instead I was lying down, in someone’s arms. I could feel things again. 

When I opened my eyes, I didn’t see the multiverse, but found myself in a strange, colorful place with someone leaning over me. It wasn’t the person I’d thought. He was placing a nano-tech housing unit on my wrist, which spread over my body, covering me with protection. He stuck a needle into my arm without hesitation and injected me with blue liquid. The stabilizing agent. Tony only seemed to settle down once all of that was completed. 

I looked up at him as he said nothing in his urgency to get me home, thinking about what had just happened. How I had wanted to see my dad again. 

“I thought you were… you _are_.” 


	22. Chapter 22

When I came to myself,  I didn’t open my eyes. They just felt heavy and my entire body ached in a way I hadn’t felt before, like my very atoms were screaming in pain at me. They probably were.

Feeling slowly came back to me, starting with my fingers and toes, and spreading to the rest of my body from there.  I felt my heart rate pick up and took several deep breaths before I noticed something. I didn’t hear a heart monitor, or people talking around me, or anything. 

I heard music.

_ Saying I love you _

_ Is not the words I want to hear from you _

_ It's not that I want you _

_ Not to say, but if you only knew _

_ How easy it would be to show me how you feel _

_ More than words is all you have to do to make it real _

_ Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me _

_ 'Cause I'd already know _

At first the music felt natural, but then I realized what was going on. I managed to look to my left and saw Peter sitting in a chair beside me with his head s lumped on his shoulder, asleep.  One earbud was in his left ear, and I followed the trail of white wire to reach my own right ear.

I smiled. He was sharing music from  my playlist while I was unconscious. Maybe he thought it would wake me up or something like that. I wondered how long it had been going on and how long he had been asleep.

Either way, I enjoyed the song “More Than Words” by Extreme until it ended and didn’t move or say a word. It wasn’t one I was super proud of liking but it was nice and it reminded me of my family.

“Peter,” I whispered when it ended, and he jumped awake. He blinked, looking around  as he was half-asleep for a moment, but he immediately caught sight of me and sprung out of his chair.

“Sami! You’re awake.” 

“Hey,” I replied softly. He just smiled back at me, looking beyond relieved that I had woken up.

“Hey.” He was bursting to tell me something. “Tony’s alive. He said you brought him back.”

I was filled with the greatest sense of relief. That was the first thing I had to ask, which was ironic that it was the first thing Peter had to tell me. Now everything seemed okay. I didn’t think I would’ve been able to handle it if Tony had not come back after everything that had happened.

I racked my brain for something funny to say, because I was  sick of being scared and brave and sad. And Peter was too shocked to speak, so I decided to make a joke.

“So uh,  did Tony tell you how I got everything to come true?”

“ Um, yeah…”

I smirked. “Peter, sis snapped.”

He started out by snickering quietly, which led to a harder laugh, until we were both  cracking up. It wasn’t funny at all, but it was just what we needed to break the tension of the moment. Our life was too serious. I took it upon myself to make it lighter and more relaxed. I definitely got it from Tony.

“By the way, I sent you about twenty memes that I found while you were out. I got really bored. ” I nodded happily.

“I’ve gotta look at them. How long have I been unconscious?”

He  made a thoughtful face. “Three days? I’m not entirely sure. A long time.”

I studied the heart monitor beside me that was beeping in a steady rhythm. That, at least, was a good sign. None of my body parts were glowing, either.  I felt extremely weak, which was a great feeling, because I  knew that my powers were completely gone.

“Peter, I’m normal. Absolutely normal. I don’t have the power anymore, I can tell.”

Peter hesitated. “Yeah, that’s what Mr. Stark said. Are you… I mean , do you feel…”

“Great,” I replied, sighing and leaning back. “ I was tired of feeling scared of my own body all the time. Now that I’ve taken care of my responsibility, it feels good to just be  _ me _ for once and not have to worry about anything else.”

He smiled largely. “ That’s great, Sami . And I’m glad you came back to us. Because if anyone needed a break, it’s you.”

It went quiet between us after this, as I  just looked at him, thinking about the song I’d just heard. That was why neither of us spoke. Because we already knew wha t each other  wanted to say. I was looking at him and with my eyes, I was saying  that I loved him. And with his own, he was saying that he knew. Because of my sacrifice.

After a few moments, he suggested that he should get Tony and the others to know I was awake, and I conceded, needing to talk to them.

“Gosh, Small Fry, couldn’t you have waited a few hours for this? It’s three in the morning.” I rolled my eyes at this less than pleasant greeting from Tony.

“When you’ve been out for three days,  I don’t really feel like it matters ,  as long as I get there. And hey, I’m glad to see you, too.”

He smiled , impressed with my sarcasm. Peter just pointed to the door and began showing himself out, glancing at me as he did so.

“I’m gonna leave you two alone now.”

Tony seemed a bit more serious after this, crossing his arms and looking around my hospital room.

“So how are you feeling?”

“Really, really awful, and weak. Like I couldn’t move for days.”

“ Y ou probably shouldn’t.”

“But in a good way,” I added matter-of-factly. “It finally feels like I served my purpose here.” Tony appeared concerned by this.

“We still need you around, kid…”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” I clarified. “You would know.  Now I  don’t have to worry about what the universe needs from me and can focus on what my family needs.”

“Hmm, I’d say we’re needy but… not  _ that _ needy,” said Tony snarkily. “You already snapped away Thanos. That  _ was _ you, right? You realize that?”

“Um, yeah, I don’t really wanna think about  i t right now.”

Just then, for the first time, I really studied my room. I didn’t actually appear to be in a hospital, now that I thought about it, but it was some kind of medical bay. And yet this wasn’t Tony’s lab or anything like it. So I looked up at him, confused.

“Wait. Where are we?”

“A SHIELD holding facility. They had better equipment for this  than I did, and we had a literal surgeon on hand, so I had to step back and let them take control this time .  But I had a hard job, too, keeping all of their agents from harassing  you – they really love that . You don’t wanna know how many forms I’ve signed… but they’re off your back for good now that they see your powers are gone.”

I exhaled. “Thanks. I hate being interrogated.”

“I know. Which is why they are making  _ me _ ask all the questions.”

“You’re joking!”

Tony grinned. “Luckily, I am.”

I felt weird because now, as I looked around the room, I noticed multiple vases of flowers, and cards propped up on every flat surface. There were stacks of them, and a balloon attached to the side of my bed.

“Um, what is all this stuff for?”

“You saved the world. I think that earns you a few  thank you  cards.” I stared at him.

“But you guys aren’t that sentimental. None of you.”

“I didn’t say they were from us. Maybe like, two are.”

I furrowed my brow at him. “Let me see them, then. Who else would they be from?” He smirked and grabbed a small one, placing it in my lap.

“It’s safe to say you now have a few admirers in the, uh,  six-to-eight age demographic.” I quickly opened the card and saw  what he meant. I t was in sloppy handwriting, obviously done by a little kid still learning how to write.  I read it intensely.

_ Dear Miss, _

_ Thank you for saving the world.  _ _ You are so brave. When I grow up, I want to be like you.  _

_ Katie _

There wasn’t much in the card because her handwriting was so big, but there were a bunch of cute little pictures that I could barely make out. I t made me feel so warm and emotional inside. This time, I got teared up, but my eyes  didn’t glow, and I was glad to know that.

“Gosh, kid. Like I want to be disappointed in how easy it is to get you emotional, but it happens so often now…”

I glared at him. “You told the world about what I did? They know who I am? ” Tony shrugged.

“They were demanding a reason for what happened, and it definitely wasn’t anything any of us did.  I give credit where credit’s due, s o I told them the truth. Don’t worry, I left you anonymous.”

I huffed and looked away, thinking about what this meant for me. “I thought we didn’t want anyone knowing who I am…”

“Well, there’s not much they can do, is there? You’re a normal human being  now. All they can do is bother you, which is something I’ve already handled. So you’re welcome.”

I looked back down at the card, thinking of all the other mail I’d already gotten. It was sweet, but I really did dislike things like that. Getting a lot of attention for things I’d done. I wanted to move on without everyone thinking I was  something more than just myself.

_ You’re a normal human being now. _

It was hard to explain how relieved that made me.  I guessed it was because now I didn’t feel the sinking dread and crushing anxiety of the multiverse’s expectations being put on my powers.

“ Well, how is everything else? Is everyone… okay?”

“Sam, they’re better than okay.  No one got seriously hurt, and  Vision even had his Stone reprogrammed back into him yesterday… by that Shuri  girl… she’s brilliant , by the way. It’s like  someone orchestrated all of this to work out perfectly, or something. Thanos had the virus in him. That’s why he was vaporized. And you had it,  and vaporized like him , but we brought you back, and now there’s no trace of anything wrong with you.  There are literally no lasting repercussion s from anything. ”

I scoffed. “ Hey, you’re back, and  everyone turned out okay, so that’s all I was worried about.”

“Right. Yeah, I wanna be mad about that, but you gave me another chance to keep taking care of my family, so I can’t.” I smiled at him.

“Good. Because I wouldn’t let you be mad about it, anyways.”

“Yeah, right. Hey, I have a new really good comeback now, though.” I made a face at him.

“I don’t think I wanna know…”

“No, it’s just whenever you ’ re pretending like I’m ruining your life, as usual, I can now say that you’re the one who wanted me here. ”

I almost laughed out loud but then the smile left my face. “Tony, that’s  _ horrible _ ! I can’t believe I  laughed at that! What a jerk thing to say!” I slapped his arm  forcefully, but then relented, because I knew there was no winning with him.

“Look kid, you’re making me  way  too sentimental these days, so this is my way of  rebelling against it.”

He stifled a huge yawn after saying this, and I felt a nother huge sense of satisfaction, that my family was all okay and there was no more threat.  But he changed the subject before I could suggest that he should go back to sleep.

“Uh, so you should know how things are gonna go from here on out. First of all,  you came out of all this with nothing but a scar on your stomach from where they blasted you. Which, that’s a miracle in and of itself.  Your power already started healing you from it. Strange only had to do a few stitches. And you were hit with, what,  _ lightning _ and  _ two _ types of magic all at once?”

I raised my eyebrows, not having realized how crazy that was. But I nodded, absentmindedly reaching  for  my stomach and gently feeling the sore spot that I hadn’t previously noticed.

“Also, I gave you the stabilizing agent and all signs of the virus are gone, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore.  But your body is s till s o weak right now that I am making you stay on bed rest for at least a month.”

“A  _ month _ ?”

“Yes,  and you don’t get to argue. Because your atoms were torn apart and then literally stitched back together. And your body has to get used to living  without powers, which it hasn’t done for a long time.  You can’t just get up and start running around after something like this, kid.”

“But… I have so much school to catch up on…”

Tony squinted at me. “You’re kidding, right?  You’re worried about school? That is out of the question. ”

“Then how am I ever going to graduate?” I demanded, no longer feeling relieved.  “All my hard work, Tony. It’ll be for nothing.”

“Don’t you think I’ve thought this through, Small Fry? I’m disappointed in you. I’ve already signed you up for summer classes which should finish out the year for you. Then after that you can  do whatever you want.”

I stared at him. I didn’t have much of a reply, since that was actually  a pretty good plan , given that they usually didn’t accept  saving the universe as a legitimate reason for absence at college . I’d already missed so much school that I couldn’t have possibly made it back up this semester , and definitely not in this state.

I had opened my mouth to reply when  a bunch of people bustled into my room without warning. I wasn’t upset though, seeing who it was.  Pepper was the first to approach me, and behind her were Steve, Nat, and Sam.

She hugged me tightly  and smiled down at me. “I’m  so glad you’re okay. We were all so worried.”

I hugged her back and my first thought was regret, and I figured that if I didn’t say anything now, then I never would.

“ Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t… that I didn’t tell you when—”

“You brought him back to me.” Pepper didn’t miss a beat. “That’s all that matters. So thank you. ”

I smiled, grateful for her forgiving response about something I’d been beating myself up for, but I didn’t get a chance to reply because Steve stepped in , placing his hand on the foot of my bed.

“Peter, uh, told us you were awake, and we won’t bother you but we wanted to say… thanks.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, surprising me as I turned to see him standing on the other side of my bed. “I don’t know what kinda witchcraft stuff you did, but it worked. You did good.”

As I looked around at them all, everyone was smiling at me, and Peter entered the room with little Ashton in his arms,  who looked b eyond tired. He handed the  child to his  father, and he crashed  up against Tony ’ s chest. The genius was smiling at me with the most pride I’d ever seen  from him. And that’s when I knew what my answer to all of this was.

“Well, I did it for this. All of you, being here, together.  I saw what the future could have been, and… I guess I just got lucky enough to be able to  get this instead.”

(about two days ago)

Tony was sitting  beside Sami’s bed, watching her breathe with his elbows propped on the bed and his hands clasped in front of his mouth.  Everything was quiet and the slow beep of her heart monitor was reassuring, but he just stared at her unconscious form, wishing to say and do a lot of things, but had no idea how to go about it.

Because he  had been dead like twenty-four hours ago. Felt it.  _ Experienced _ it. And yet here he was. 

Sami had saved his life.

“ Sorry, I was just coming to  check on Sami, but I can come back later.”

Tony  spun, slightly startled, to see Steve standing in the doorway, looking like he didn’t want to be there at all. He stood and  averted his gaze around the room.

“Nah, it’s okay. She’s stable. Not very exciting right now, though.”

“I think she’s had enough excitement for a while,” Steve remarked with a hint of a smile , which made Tony scowl.

“No kidding.”

It fell silent between them for a few moments, as they both were thinking over it all.

“Tony, I’m sorry,” Steve said softly. “ I should’ve been there. It shouldn’t just have been on you to call me.  It’s my fault that I wasn’t there.”

“Not accurate,” Tony cut him off matter-of-factly . “When we needed to call you, I wasn’t in a good state of mind. I probably would have chewed you out for not being there.”

“I probably deserved it…”

“Well,  I gave it to Sami on top of everything else she was dealing with , which was a bad idea on my part.”

Steve just smirked. “ Then let’s not argue  anymore about who’s at fault because we’re not gonna get anywhere, I guess. It happened, and we can’t change that.”

Tony sighed from his nose. “ I don’t know, I’m just looking at my… my  _ daughter _ …  knowing that  she just saved the universe  and that I’m gonna somehow get credit for  that because I adopted her, when really it has nothing to do with me. I didn’t raise her. All I did for her was give her a place to stay.  And I was  effectively _ dead _ when she made her decision.”

Steve’s face softened. “You know that’s not true, though.  After you died… I saw how much it affected her.  She only sacrificed herself because it’s what you would have done. You do rub off on her, even if you don’t want to.”

He frowned in disappointment . “Yeah, well, I get that she was busy being our hero and all, but could someone please let her know that if she had  actually  written something about her surviving , then she would have saved me  at least  several gray hairs?”

Steve smiled and looked down.  “It’s good to have you back, Tony. I don’t know what we would’ve done if she hadn’t  saved you . ”

Tony  looked back up and turned to face him. He reached out to shake hands. “ You kept her safe, Cap.”

His old friend nodded. “Thank you for trusting me with her. She’s a good kid . I think that makes us all better because of it. ”

(a few days into my bed rest)

I was getting restless. I’d already watched most of my favorite movies and  played way too many video games. I was allowed to walk around my floor at the facility and nothing else. I hated feeling confined, but at the same time, I was definitely too weak to do anything about it.

Peter could only come  to hang out with me so often with his own school and during one of the times when I was alone with nothing to do, Tony took his chance to corner me in my bedroom.

I looked up from my book as I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, reading. “What  is it?” 

I asked this because he hadn’t entered with his usual fashion, being sarcastic or  a jerk to me. Instead I could tell something was on his mind.

“You miss them, don’t you?”

He didn’t have to explain who he was talking about. My mood darkened a bit. I looked away.  In my hesitation he went on. “It’s okay if you do and don’t want to say it. Completely understandable. But be honest. ”

“I… I  do miss them. I can’t forget about them. I don’t want to. But i s this because of what happened with the ‘I love you three thousand’ thing? Because I didn’t— "

“ I’m not upset.  No, it just got me thinking. That I’m here, enjoying the benefits of you saving the multiverse, being this figurehead as your dad, when really I did none of the raising and all I was  good for was giving you a place to live. And then the real thing , the real reason for you , is right where you left them,  _ mourning _ you, kid. I can’t process that.  Glad I don’t have to. But… it doesn’t feel right, leaving it like this.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, growing nervous, since the last time Tony started talking like this he tried to send me back to my universe. “What can be done about it?”

“Maybe there’s a way for you to not have the option of forgetting them.  I put a little something together for you, and you don’t have to if it would be too painful… but I think it’s a good option.”

“Are you talking about BARF? I use that every now and then,” I replied, not sure what he was getting at. 

“No, this is different. Come here, let me show you.”

He led me  into the living room, rather than his lab or something like that, and gestured to a laptop that was sitting on the couch. My curiosity was completely p iqu ed by this point because I didn’t see what a laptop had to do with anything.

“Okay, what kind of crazy  thing can this laptop do?”

Tony smirked. “I programmed it inter-dimensionally. Meaning the coordinates are set to that of your universe, and you have access to the  signals there. You can now communicate with your family, preferably by email.”

My eyes were wide with shock. “You’re kidding. I can actually…?”

He smiled at me. “You can talk to your family, Small Fry. There are some rules, though.  Written emails and videos are fine, but any  live conversations would be bad. You know, influencing other universes can only be done in moderation.”

I nodded in contemplation. “Okay, I get that. And  anything is better than nothing at all.”

“Well, I don’t know how long it’ll take for you to warm up to it or what you wanna say,  but the option is there. If you need help proving to them what  you’re saying, I’m sure I can make an appearance in a video, and Peter would love to mess with them, too. So just take it at your own pace.”

I still couldn’t believe it.  I was going to be able to talk to my family. I had already turned on the laptop and opened up the email.  I typed in my dad’s email address and a picture of him with my sister immediately popped up. 

And yeah, I was emotional, but mostly I was just grinning, thinking over all that I wanted to tell them, and how I wanted to put Peter in the videos with me…

“Tony, thank you.  This is gonna be so great. Really hard, but great.  There’s so much I have to say to them.”

“I thought so,” he replied.  “Let me know how it goes. Maybe your dad and I can have one of those weird co-parenting relationships.”

I rolled my eyes with  passion. “You had to go and ruin it, didn’t you?”

“I was procrastinating before you hug me.”

At this comment, I smiled knowingly and then quickly got up  to hug Tony as he had predicted.  Then I had a funny thought.

“I’m gonna need a video of Peter  actually  being Spider-Man to prove to my sister that he’s not just Tom Holland.”

“I’m sure you will. I have no clue what that means, but ye ah. You’re definitely right.”

( back at the SHIELD facility)

I felt entirely cooped up and  personally invaded the longer I stayed in my makeshift hospital room,  because besides all the nosy agents, Nick Fury himself had paid a visit to me. A “check-up”, he’d called it. But I knew he just wanted  to know  my business.  Fury’s job could basically be summed up by that – knowing everyone’s business.  I guessed he had a right to finally know.  Peter and Tony had been there to help me answer his  crit icism , and the hardcore head of SHIELD seemed suspicious of me but  ended up back ing off, seeing that I was no longer a threat to anything.

Finally, I had had enough lying in bed. I wanted to get up. And I  _ really _ needed to use the bathroom.

I placed my feet down on the cold tile floor, and  it felt weird to finally stretch. But when I swung my weight off the bed and onto my legs, they began shaking from the sudden strain and I would have fallen if Peter hadn’t been right there to catch me.

“Ugh,” I muttered. “This is stupid.  I should be better  by now. I just want to go to the bathroom.”

Peter just smiled and shifted so that I could stand by grasping his arm. “Well, you need to take it slow, okay?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m tired of feeling like I just got hit by a train.”

“Oof. I can’t say I know the feeling . ”

I smirked. “It’ll probably happen someday. ”

He helped me back into bed, and I reluctantly  laid back down against my pillows. Peter and I had been literally inseparable ever since I’d woken up, and it took a lot to get him to leave my room, even when I was asleep. Sometime s May would come and pry him away just to get some sleep in the hallway, like Tony often did. I knew they didn’t trust SHIELD keeping me without their supervision, but I wished they would  relax.

However, I felt for Peter, because in his case, he was clearly making up for what  could have been lost time.

His role over the past few days was running around to get food for everyone, especially  for  Tony and  me . Today I was craving a cheeseburger, so after the resident nurse gave me a tray of absolutely disgusting hospital food, Peter traded me for a  burger in a wrapper from the drive-thru and a carton of fries.

“You know,” I remarked,  discarding the trash from my meal. “we definitely have to go on so many more dates now. Because I don’t have any excuses  not to  anymore. I don’t have to wear hats, and I don’t have to worry about my powers or anything…”

“Sounds great,” replied Peter.

“But,” I continued. “it’s a shame that now  that we can do that, I’m not cool anymore.”

“Hold up, don’t even go there, Sami—” I cut him off playfully.

“No, I’m serious. Before , I could beat up bad guys and see the future and blow things up. Now Tony’s asking me to go to the gym every week and even after I get  my strength back , that’s gonna be a struggle.”

Peter frowned at me. “ Maybe that’s true, but none of that makes you uncool.”

“Really? I don’t see how you could argue that.”

“Sami,  you were adopted by Tony Stark before we knew any of this about you. And you know he only hangs around cool people.” I smirked.

“Like you?”

“Exactly. And  even though you did a lot of cool stuff that maybe you can’t do now,  you’re still an important part of the Avengers, which… if that’s not cool, I don’t know what is.”

Finally I smiled.  “Yeah, that’s true.  I guess I just still feel bad that I can’t really help you out  any more like I could with my power.”

“Hey, you’re still my partner in crime as far as I’m concerned , so don’t worry about it. I’ll need someone  to come home to, anyways.”

I blushed brightly at this, and so did Peter after he said it, like he had just realized what he had told me.  It was so sweet and such a nice thought that any other doubt I had about myself melted away as I considered what it would mean to be the person Peter came home to.

I really liked that idea.

(a few years  later)

I walked into the living room of Tony and Pepper’s house to find Ashton  standing on the couch with his socks, clutching the back of it for dear life.

“Sami!” he hollered urgently. “The floor is lava!” 

It only took me a split second to decide between doing the cool thing and the fun thing. I gasped. “Oh no! Hold on, I’ll get to you!”

I hastily made a pathway using some spare cushions and even stepping on the nearby coffee table. I crashed onto the couch next to Ashton and  held him close in a very dramatic way. “It’s gonna be okay,” I told him, breathing heavily from a mix of excellent acting and also the strain it took to get over there without touching the floor.

“But wait! The lava’s rising!” Ashton squealed, wriggling around on the couch to stand up. I couldn’t help but thinking how disappointed Pepper would be of us standing on the furniture . B ut it was fun.

“ Is there any higher ground?” I asked.

“Yes! The table!” The four-year-old pointed to the dining room table and I had to hold back a grunt. It was a long way from where we were and imagining  getting up there filled me with anxiety. But before we could make a move, Peter entered the room, and we were both on the ball.

“ Peter, no! The floor is lava!” we both yelled, and it took even less time for him to get into the game than for me. I supposed he knew how upset I would be if he didn’t play along. But at the same time, he usually would have  been the one starting something like this in the first place.

Soon we were all huddled together on a large cushion on the floor, balancing off of the ground. Peter s pread a blanket over the hard floor and crawled over to it.

“Don’t worry, Ashton! It’ll be okay! I’m sending you to Peter!”

“Okay,” he giggled.

“Here comes Ashton, keep him safe!” I called out to Peter dramatically, even though he was sitting a few feet away from me. I  picked up the little kid with both hands and placed him in Peter’s outstretched arms. 

“I got you, buddy! Now let’s get to the table! We can make it!”

Just then, we all froze, seeing someone else walk in. Tony crossed his arms.

“ Alright, w hat kind of shenanigans are happening in here?”

“Daddy! The floor is lava!” Ashton announced  as Peter hoisted him up onto the dining table.  He sat down with his little legs dangling over the edge.

“ But wait,” Peter said all of a sudden, looking around fearfully. “Don’t let him  trick you, Ashton. That’s… the lava monster.”

As I watched in amusement, Tony gladly stepped into his own role in the game rather than make a fool of himself  climbing on the furniture. He started to approach Ashton, with his hands stretched out , making roaring noises like a true lava monster.

“I’m gonna get you…”

“Daddy!” his son s hriek ed , staring to giggle . “Daddy,  _ no _ !”

At the moment Tony reached the  toddler, an all-out tickle fight erupted.  He lifted Ashton into his arms and tickled him all over, and the room was filled  with loud, uncontrollable laughter. “Daddy, please, stop!”

Tony smiled in victory, and after  a  lot of  extra tickling on his son,  he set Ashton down. “Okay, now you’re on my team, so we have to get Sami and Peter!”

“ _ What _ ?” Peter and I both asked at the same time.  But neither of them hesitated to advance on us and Tony got to me first.

“ No! Stop! That doesn’t work on me!” I was already laughing, though, so it was useless.

“It doesn’t work, huh? I’m an expert tickler.”

The four of us ended up in a pile of  tickling and giggling,  over and over again.  I was lying on the couch with  Ashton on me, and Peter and Tony surrounding us,  completely out of breath. My sides were hurting in the best way.

“Hey, would you goofballs like some lunch today ?” Pepper had appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, smirking at all of us. We didn’t hesitate to take her up on this and head  in for a meal. As we lined up  for sandwiches,  Tony  placed Ashton on his hip and tried to figure out what he wanted to eat.

“ You can’t tell me you ever had a tickle fight as good as that when you were little, Small Fry.”

“ Yeah, right. We  _ invented _ tickle fights.”

“But that  _ was _ pretty great,” Peter remarked. “May and I don’t usually have such a  detailed storyline.”

“Did you say  _ don’t _ ? Like these tickle fights are a continuous thing? ” Peter refrained to answer Tony out of embarrassment, most likely, and I was already laughing, but  the billionaire was just proud.

“Man, I aspire to be able to have tickle fights with my adult children. Parenting goals, right there.”

My palm  rubbed at my forehead. “ You just did that. But let’s all agree to not let it happen again.”

Tony smirked and his eye twitched a bit as he did so. “ _ Sure _ .”

_ Peter and I sat down in front of  _ _ my webcam. We’d agreed to take this slow.  _ _ I was gripping his hand tightly. _

_ “Are you ready?” _

_ He smiled and nodded. “ _ _ I’m with you, Sami. Let’s do this.” _

_ I reached forward and clicked  _ _ the button to begin recording the video. I looked at the camera. Both of us were smiling. I couldn’t really process that this was actually happening. _

_ “Um, hi.  _ _ It’s Sami. I’m… heh, I’m alive.  _ _ And this is really weird and I’m sure you’ll  _ _ struggle to believe that this is real but it is.  _ _ I didn’t actually die. I don’t know what kind of hard things you guys have dealt with, and I’m so sorry for what I put you through… but I came to another universe. It’s actually… it’s the Marvel universe.  _ _ Yeah it’s a long story, maybe for later on, and you’re freaking out enough, I’m sure. So for now I’ll just stick with that I’m okay.  _ _ Everything turned out okay for me. Maybe now I can give you guys a little closure. _ _ I just wanted to finally say hi.  _ _ You can, uh, send a video back if you want. Or just a message.  _ _ I’ve missed you guys _ _ , a _ _ nd I love you both.” _

_ I looked over at Peter, who  _ _ took this to mean he needed to say something. _

_ “Um, hey. I’m Peter.  _ _ I’m, uh…” _

_ “We’re dating,” I blurted out, grinning. _

_ “Yeah, and apparently I’m supposed to clarify that I’m not Tom Holland?” I laughed. _

_ “ _ _ It’s all really weird, but yes, I’m sitting here with Peter Parker. The real thing.” _

_ “ _ _ And it’s really nice to finally meet you Mr. Evans and Sarah.  _ _ Sami is great.” _

_ Just then, I heard someone behind us ask, “Hey, are you finally making the video?” before sauntering in the room and going, “Oh! Hi!” _

_ I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, and this is Tony. He adopted me. Another long story.” _

_ Tony got closer to the camera. “ _ _ I made this little gadget for Sami to  _ _ be able to send you two videos.  _ _ It’s an honor to meet you but I’ll  _ _ skedaddle _ _ before I think too hard about how you  _ _ probably know more about me than I know about myself _ _. L _ _ ike Sami already does.” _

_ I snickered as Tony slipped out of the room and decided to  _ _ end the video soon after that. I supposed it was enough information for the first contact with my family in almost four years. _

_ Very quickly we received emails in response showing an overview of my dad and sister’s reaction _ _ , which I figured was more emotional than the messages recorded, with videos of  _ _ amazement and demanding more information about what had happened to me, which I was happy to explain.  _ _ I’d been apprehensive about them being mad that I couldn’t come back to them _ _ , _ _ but  _ _ seeing them so happy to hear that I was okay made everything worth it. _

(about six months later)

I was sitting at my desk at home, looking out the window at the loud,  rushing city.  I grabbed my mug of  hot chocolate and sipped it.  Every now and then I’d see Spider-Man swing by. Sometimes he would make it a point to wave at me. I thought it was really cute.

Occasionally I’d  get lost in daydreams of living on a farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere with Tony, Pepper, Ashton, and Peter, but for now I was content to live in the city. Pulling  my boyfriend out of the city, where Spider-Man belonged, just because  I didn’t prefer it was rude . A nd now that I lived in the perfect middle point between Peter and Tony, I had found my niche.  I was getting used to this life.  And now that I had graduated and was taking a gap year from college,  things were going well.

I typed up the last few sentences of  the latest article I’d been working o n and then tweaked the title.

_ Why We Need the Avenge _ _ rs _ __

_ By Samantha Evans-Stark _

The hyphenation was new. I thought it was a cool writer  name. And fin ally, without my powers, I had found a way to use my writing to help people. 

Suddenly my phone  vibrated, and I looked down to see a picture of Peter , who was calling me. I pressed it to my ear.

“Hey.”

“Hey, what’s up?’

“Um, just finishing up something I’ve been working on.”

“ Cool. So y ou said you have some news, right? I just got  out of class and I’m so ready to hear it. ” I smiled.

“Yeah. And get ready, because this is great.”

“What?”

“Well, you know how I applied for a job the other day, right…”

“No way! You got the job?”

“Mmhmm. I’ll be writing for the  _ Daily Bugle _ , now.  Mr. Jameson was really  impressed with my interview , as crazy as that is to say. ”

“Wow, I’m so proud of you , Sam. That’s gonna be a great job.”

I hummed. “He  also said they’re looking for a new photographer. Imagine  us working together. You’d be a cute news photographer.”

“Huh. I do see that. I guess I can get some good , almost  _ bird’s-eye _ angles.”

I laughed. “ Yeah, true.”

“Well, I have some news, too, but it’s not that exciting…”

“What is it?”

“I’m giving a presentation on  artificial intelligence this weekend. I have to put it together and  present it at this really techy conference. I think I might get Mr. Stark to help me.”

I snorted. “ _ Nerd _ .”

“Hey, don’t start with that because I don’t ever have a good comeback for you. Like…  _ word-lover _ . See? It just doesn’t work the same way.”

I laughed again. “I’m kidding. Are visitors al lowe d at this fancy conference? Because I would love to  come cheer you on.”

“I’m sure they could make an exception.”

The conversation died out after this as I smiled and thought to myself about  watching Peter’s  presentation. He didn’t always show it, but he was really smart, and stuff like that really got him going, and I loved it. So of course I wanted to support him.

“Hey, so we’re still on for tonight, right?”

“ That’s what I heard last.”

“Cool. I’ll be there to pick you up at  six.”

What was unique about this is that I knew that by “pick me up”, Peter meant literally  _ pick me up _ . We had dinner plans on the roof of Avengers tower with Tony, Pepper, and Ashton for the evening , and a  _ very _ fun way to get there .

When six o’clock rolled around,  Peter swung by my apartment  in his suit and  hoisted me onto his back. He webbed my hands together  tightly and after ensuring that I was ready, promptly jumped o ff of my  balcony .

We were freefalling, just like the time when we were on our way to help Tony fight. Only this time the  fear that caught in my throat only lasted a few seconds before  Peter pulled up  with his webs and we swung forward, toward the tower.  I had learned to trust him as he carried us, flying through the air,  so that I was able to relax and just enjoy the  feeling. The sun was starting to set and  the cool fall breeze  blew my hair all over the place –  and it felt  _ really _ good.

The sparkling city whizzed by  and  my arms rested on Peter’s shoulders.  We would typically stop at our usual skyscraper  to sit on its ledge, but tonight we had somewhere else to be.

Peter pulled us up onto  the roof of Avengers tower and  we were met with a judgmental, sarcastic attitude upon arrival, to no one’s chagrin.

“Always gotta be so dramatic with your entrances, huh?  This is the reason cars and elevators were invented.”

“So people wouldn’t have to  _ swing _ places?” I quirked an eyebrow at Tony, making him falter.

“Hey, it’s fun, and sustainable, so there,” Peter added.

“Fine, if  you must have the  satisfaction of winning the argument, I’ll be so considerate and give you that.”

“You’re just jealous that you can’t do it,” I muttered. He ignored this and instead  turned his attention to Ashton, who was resting against his hip. He set him down on the ground , holding him upright by his two tiny hands.

“Hey, let’s show sissy what we’ve been practicing, yeah?  Go get her!”

Ashton looked at me, smiled, and wobbled on his feet, but then Tony let go and gave him a slight push in my direction. I crouched down and reached for him because I saw what was happening. Ashton  took several, very small, very unstable steps toward me, but within seconds he  toppled into my arms and I lifted him up proudly.

“Surprise!” Tony exclaimed. I grinned down at the child.

“Wow! I didn’t know he’d been walking. You did so good , Ash !” I  rubbed his tummy affectionately and he gurgled happily.

“Yeah. He’s also been laughing at  _ everything _ lately, and Pepper doesn’t think it’s good for my ego.”

I  shrugged. “Probably not.  But it’s  _ cute _ .”

“Pizza’s here!”

Pepper appeared  after climbing the staircase to the roof with pizza boxes in her arms, and we all sat down on the patio furniture to eat. They had decorated the outside area with strings of white lights so the ambiance was soft and  glowing. As we ate  happily, the conversation was lively, including discussions about my job and Peter’s presentation and all the places Ashton has been walking. 

Nights  like this were what I lived for.  It filled me with such a great, contented feeling.

After dinner, I expected to start saying our goodbyes for the evening and  have Peter take me back home,  but Tony stopped us before we could.

“Hang on, I’ve got one last surprise.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “What? Should I be concerned?”

He waved this off. “No. It’s right up your alley.”

Without wasting a second, Tony made us follow him downstairs into the large  living floor of his tower that had gone relatively  un used  except for our infrequent visits, such as this one. But this floor  was primarily empty except for near  one tall, white wall. He had set up a projector  that pointed to it and placed lawn chairs in front of it, so we ended up with a situation like a large movie-screen.

Immediately I scowled. “Are we in for a thrilling  _ Power-Point _ presentation?”

Tony said nothing as he started up the projector. I sat in one of the chairs next to Peter’s and  Pepper followed our lead, holding happy little Ashton in her lap. We all watched  her husband expectantly, and I mouthed to Pepper , asking  if she knew anything about this, but she shook her head.

The first slide to appear on the projector  once it fired up  was all black with a white title.  I instantly winced when I read it.

_ Ultimate Sami Fridge-Worthy Moments _

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.”

Tony was looking at me knowingly , crossing his arms.  “So your sister actually hooked me up with  all the pictures and everything , and even a couple videos,  to create for us the effect of going through your childhood with you.  If you were sad, or maybe relieved that you didn’t have any embarrassing pictures to look back on,  now you don’t have to be.”

I rolled my eyes.  “ Yo u asked her to send all of these to you?”

“Yeah, and I got some real gems. ” I was automatically grateful that I didn’t have any naked bathtub pictures. 

That I knew of. 

“ They’re in chronological order, so we’re going through your whole life tonight. And I’ll pause every now and then for a mandatory explanation. ”

I sighed and pressed my lips together. I really was looking forward to  seeing these pictures, because I literally hadn’t been able to look at my baby pictures for four whole years, but  somehow  Peter was the giddiest out of us all.

“ I’m  _ so _ ready,” he commented, sitting back and smiling.  Tony  quickly  began the slideshow and a song started, one I recognized. I figured  my sister had picked it out for me .  _ Smile _ , by Mikky Ekko.

It was perfect.

So many pictures of me started appearing, beginning from when I was a baby . I got to see all of my cute little outfits and  videos of me toddling around, which made me look at Ashton, who sat sucking his thumb.  Tony and Pepper were watching the pictures of me as they  appeared in amusement.

“ You know,  I was so cute. What happened?” I asked. It was such a lame and cliché joke that Peter just scoffed and Tony rolled his eyes. But I was smiling, anyways.

A  plethora of pictures kept scrolling past.  We got past my babyish years and into the toddler age, where I started smiling goofily in every single photo, meriting lots of judgments from Tony about how phony I looked. He paused after almost every other picture, it seemed, and asked me to explain what was going on i n it.  I figured that once this  ended , we’d all have the image of m e smiling at the camera  permanently  ingrained in our minds.

Peter’s comments were  adorably comforting as he remarked  about how  cute I was, and Pepper echoed him. The only criticisms came from Tony, but I knew he was being difficult because every time I watched him looking at the screen, his eyes were lit up and  practically glassy.

My big brown eyes seemed to be one of the things that had not changed a bit about me. I wasn’t mad.  They were great for whenever I needed to get Peter or Tony to do something for me.

Instead of crying, I simply got very thoughtful as I watched  the slideshow. It was amazing to realize that this was what my life used to look like. Now it was so, so different. But also the same. I hadn’t come here alone.  Having a family to support you through new circumstances is always important, and in Tony I had already had one the second I stepped into this universe.

Wow. That was  weird to think about.

Over the next hour or so, I shared story after story behind all the interesting pictures and accepted both sarcastic comments and cooing from  my family.  I felt very reminiscent about what my life meant to me  and the only reason why I hadn’t shed a tear yet was because Tony kept making me aggravated. It was normal for us, so I was happy. I’d be concerned if he  _ had _ been acting emotional about it all – it would mean there was something wrong.

Peter pulled  me close to lean on him and kissed my forehead gently.  After enjoying scenes from my life such as my first few birthdays,  my lasting obsession with Elmo,  my years playing sports as a kid ,  and even  first days of school during my awkward teen years,  I finally realized that it really  _ was _ like experiencing my entire life with my new family, just really fast.

The mood around us was entirely calm. Pepper was leaning on Tony’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her, mirroring Peter and I.  Looking back on what used to be made me want to make new memories.

When we got back to my apartment after telling everyone good night, I figured Peter wa s already trying to start  on  th ose memories .

I was standing on my small balcony, unlocking the door with my small key.  The stars were out and extra sparkly tonight.  I was about to invite him in for a snack, or something, but when I turned around I  almost screamed out of shock because his face was inches away from my own.

But he was hanging upside down by  his webs, looking at me through his white lenses. I laughed in confusion.

“Um, what are you doing?” Peter pulle d the bottom of his  mask up so that it showed his  mouth .

“ I, uh,  had an idea and then Ned kind of dared me to try it so I thought I would ask.  It’s okay if you don’t want to, I guess it’s kinda weird but it could also… it could be fun.”

I smiled and raised an eyebrow at him. “Peter, you want to upside-down-kiss me, don’t you?”

He grinned back and an exhale of relief came out of his mouth. “Yeah.”

He started to say something else but it came out as an “ _ Oomph _ ” because I had  swiftly leaned forward to kiss him.  His hands reached up to touch both sides of my face. Our lips locked and  held on for a few nice, l o ng  moments before I pulled back slightly,  and looked down at his eyes , knowing they were behind the mask.

“How was that ?” I asked quietly, smiling happily at him.

“It was  great ,” Peter replied instantly. “Thanks for that. ” He turned right side up again  with a  _ thwip _ after this and perched up on my balcony  ledge, ready to take off into the night. “I’ll see you later. Oh, and by the way, it was cool to see your story tonight ,  but that was just the beginning. Right?”

I hummed and nodded, biting my lip. “Right. Totally.”

As Peter  pulled his mask all the way down and dove off the ledge,  hollering in exhilaration for several seconds  that he fell, I smiled so hard and  started to head inside, full of  the most excitement and satisfaction I’d ever felt. Because Peter was right.

My story was far from over.

** THE END **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! Thank you to all of you who've stuck with me. I hope you all love Sami as much as I do. :)


End file.
